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Copyright W. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



POPULAR PATRIOTIC 
POEMS EXPLAINED 



A Supplementary Reader for Use 
in Public and Private Schools 



BY 



DAWSEY COPE MURPHY, Ph.D. 

SUPERINTENDENT OF TRAINING DEPARTMENT, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL 
SLIPPERY ROCK, PA. 




\j)S 



HINDS, tfOBLE 6f ELDREDGE 

3 '-33-35 West 15 th Street New York City 






yA 



Copyright, 1895, by R. L. Myers & Co. 
Copyright, 1909, by Hinds, Noble & Eldredge 



LI3RARY of CONGRESS 
Two Copies Received 

MAft 1 1909 

Copyri^«t Entry . 
CLASS X WIC. NO, 



* 
« 



TO MY HONORED AND BEHOVED MOTHER 

RACHEL MURPHY 

WHOSE EARNEST AND UNSELFISH LIFE 

HAS BEEN TO HER CHILDREN A WORTHY 

EXAMPLE AND A CONSTANT INSPIRATION 

THIS VOLUME IS 

AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 



Typography by Robinson & Shiever, Butler, Pa. 



PREFACE. 



The present Supplementary Reader consists in a number of poetical 
selections, extracts from addresses and grand words of our fathers, 
with something of their origin — all of which are based upon different 
features of our country's history. 

The attempt has not been to cover the entire scope of our history, 
but to vary the range sufficiently to stimulate children to search for 
other poems and historical selections. The child never tires of 
stories of noble and daring deeds and as he hears or reads them his 
patriotic feeling is developed and there is born in him a resolution, 
"that the blessings which cost so much shall be preserved." 

The aim has been to select those pieces which will awaken a deeper 
interest and create a greater fondness for historical study; to present 
to the minds of our children historical literature of enduring merit — 
that which will impart pure sentiments and excite in the young a 
greater admiration and love for the "Land of the Pilgrim Fathers." 
During a long experience in teaching history the author discovered 
that one soul-stirring poem or patriotic address based upon some 
heroic event, read or recited before a class will frequently do more 
to foster a love for history than a whole term's instruction by ques- 
tions and answers. 

The poem which gives life and reality to history, vividly pictures a 
particular scene in the mind, directs the whole attention, arouses an 
interest, excites the imagination, inspires patriotic feelings, cultivates 
a taste for good literature and broadens the sphere of knowledge. 
Thus the close relationship existing between history and literature is 
made more evident to the mind of the child as we give them the truth 
in different forms. 

The author takes pleasure in acknowledging the kindnesses shown 
by many publishing companies and authors for permission to use 
their productions, and to able teachers for suggestions in the prepara- 
tion of this book, and sends it forth with the hope of promoting a 
greater interest in the study of history and literature. 

D. C. M. 

Slippery Rock Normal, Pa. 



CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Dedication iii 

Preface v 

I. Colonial Epoch : 

i. Columbus Joaquin Miller, i 

2. The American Indian 4 

3. Pocohontas Mrs. Lydia Sigoumey, 6 

4. The Landing of the Pilgrims . . Mrs. Hemans, 10 

5. Old Round Tower D. C. Murphy, 13 

6. The First Thanksgiving . . Increase Tarbox, 15 

7. The Burial of De Soto . ... M.J. Reynolds, 19 

8. The Story of Penn 23 

9. Wolfe's Victory D. C. Murphy, 25 

II. Revolutionary Epoch : 

1. Boston Tea Party . . . Mrs. H. Etta Murphy, 30 

2. Minute Men Bryant, 34 

3. Patriots of '76 . . . Thomas Buchanan Reed, 38 

4. The Battle of Bunker Hill . Blue and the Gray, 42 

5. The Battle of Fort Moultrie . . . L. Wheeler, 46 

6. Independence Bell Anon, 50 

7. The Story of Nathan Hale Francis M. Finch, 54 

8. American Victory at Tren- 

ton Mrs. H. Etta Murphy, 58 



viii CONTENTS. 

Page. 

9. The American Flag . . . J. Rodman Drake, 63 

10. Parson Allen's Ride Wallace Bruce, 66 

11. Andre's Last Request Willis, 70 

12. Song of Marion's Men William Cullen Bryant, 73 

13. Marion's Dinner Edward C.Jones, yy 

14. Emily Geiger ... ... 80 

15. Washington's Farewell to his Army . . . Anon, 84 

III. Constitutional Epoch : 

1. The Home of the Duelist . . Mrs. Sigourney, 88 

2. Perry's Victory D. C Murphy, 92 

3. The Star-Spangled Banner . . Francis S. Key, 97 

4. Osceola G. W. Patten, 100 

5. Black Hawk's Address 103 

6. Electric Telegraph Anon, 106 

7. Monterey Charles Hoffman, 109 

8. The South in the Revolution, Robert Y. Hayne, 112 

9. Massachusetts and South Caro- 

lina Daniel Webster, 115 

10. Kossuth Anon, 118 

11. John Maynard Anon, 121 

IV. Civil War Epoch : 

1. The Last Broadside .... Elizabeth Beach, 125 

2. National Cemetery at Gettysburg . . Lincoln, 128 

3. Sheridan's Ride . . Tho7nas Buchanaji Reed, 130 

4. Sherman's March to the Sea 134 

5. Roll Call N. G. Shepherd, 137 

6. The Grand Review Bret Harte, 140 

V. Miscellaneous : 

1. How Cyrus Laid the Cable 144 



CONTEXTS. ix 

Pagte. 

2. Our Sainted Poet — Whittier, 

Good Housekeeping, 147 

3. Memorial Day Francis M. Finch, 151 

4. Decoration Day Byron W. King, 154 

5. The Southern Soldier . . . Henry W. Grady, 158 

6. Yosemite Wallace Bruce, 161 

7. Dan Periton's Ride . . . Albion W. Toitrgee, 166 

8. Saved by a Hymn . . . Harry W. Kimball, 173 

9. Grandfather's Fourth . . . . H C. Bunner, 178 
10. Proverbs Illustrated in American History . .181 
n. Which shall it be ? 183 

12. Arbor Day George P, Morris, 187 

13. America . . . . . . „ . e . . S. F. Smith, 190 



FLASH-LIGHTS ON HISTORY 



LESSON I. 



COLUMBUS. 

i. Had we been standing on the wharf of a small seaport called 
Palos, in Spain, a little over 400 years ago we would have beheld an 
unusual sight. It is a half hour until sunrise, yet the whole town 
seems to be moving toward the river where three small vessels lie at 
anchor. The names of the vessels are "Pinta," "Nina" and "Santa 
Marie." It is a beautiful morning; a band of musicians marches 
down to the ships followed by priests who are chanting an anthem. 
These are followed by a number of' sailors, among whom is a tall, 
white-haired, noble-looking man. He steps on board the largest 
A-essel and hoists a flag bearing the picture of a lion and one of a 
castle — it is the flag of Spain. He gives the command, "In Christ's 
name spread the sails." Up go the sails; the anchors are drawn, and 
out of the port into the great Atlantic goes the little fleet, leaving the 
rising sun behind it. 

2. The white-haired chieftain who gives the command is Colum- 
bus — a person who achieved one of the greatest triumphs of man- 
kind — the man who discovered America. 

3. When a boy, Columbus spent much of his time at the busy 
wharfs in Genoa, 1 watching the richly-laden vessels coming and 
going, and talking with the sailors about distant countries which he 
wished to see. The great desire of his heart was to see the other 
shore of the great Atlantic, and after years of toil in which he visited 
several countries to secure aid in making a voyage into the unknown 
waters, we find him with three small vessels and 120 men embarking 
on a world-renowned voyage. 

4. Six da}^s have passed; Columbus has reached the Canary islands 
and stops to repair one of his ships. Then off again on the trackless 
ocean. The sailors burst into tears saying, "the world is left behind 
us and we will never see our loved ones again." But the chieftain 

\. GENOA: A city in Italy where Columbus was born in 1435. 



2 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

assured them that "where ships can sail; men may venture,'' and 
although they are sailing on unknown waters, yet they will reach a 
glorious land. The winds blowing from the east bear the ships on 
the bosom of the sea like a beautiful song is borne on the morning 
breeze. 

5. Days of hope and days of fear pass over; now the sailors are 
quailing as they see the flaming fires of Teneriffe; 1 for many of them 
have never before seen a volcano; now they conspire to kill their 
commander; now they are wrung with superstitious fears as they sail 
on into the watery wilderness; now the ships go moaning mid the 
sedgy banks of the Saragossa sea. 2 The trade winds which are carry - 
ing them to success, they believe are bearing them to destruction. 
The sailors insist on returning home. Bvery day seems a year. 
From sunrise to sunset nothing is seen but the broad expanse of 
water and sky overhead, and the sailors declare that "the ocean has 
no end and that they are on the outskirts of the world.* ' 

6. After three months of continued sailing, indications of land 
begin to appear; pieces of wood skillfully carved are seen floating by; 
a hawthorn bush is seen in blossom and a bird's nest attached, and in 
the nest sits the mother bird; vines with berries on them are seen on 
gently rolling waves; land-birds fly about and light on the masts of 
the vessels, and the very atmosphere indicates land near at hand. 

7. The last anxious night comes. Weary and worn with watching 
many nights, Columbus, with broken rest and almost broken heart, 
sits aloft in the prow of the Santa Marie and peering into the night, he 
sweeps the horizon with his keen eye. While thus alone at midnight, 
he sees a light; then it disappears, then reappears. Columbus waits 
for day -break; it is a proud moment of painful suspense. Suddenly 
a cannon shot from the "Pinta," rings out over the sea; it is the 
welcome signal of land in sight — the announcement of a new-born 
world. Never did the hours pass so slowly, or a night clear away 
so gradually, or a morning appear so beautiful as it developed into 
day revealing the new world. It is Friday, October 12, 1492. 3 

8. Columbus, surrounded by his companions, rows ashore, kneels 
down, kisses the earth, hoists the royal standard of Spain and takes 
possession of the country for Ferdinand and Isabella. 

I. TENERIFFE: One of the Canary Islands which constantly emits sulphurous 
vapors. 

2. SARAGOSSA SEA: A vast region in the centre of the North Atlantic, 

filled with floating seaweed; it covers an area of 260,000 square miles. 

3. Columbus thought he had reached India and he therefore called the dark- 

hued natives, INDIANS. 



COLUMBUS. 

i. Behind him lay the gray Azores, 

Behind the Gates of Hercules ; 
Before him not the ghost of shores, 

Before him only shoreless seas. 
The good mate said: " Now let us pray, 

For lo ! the very stars are gone. 
Speak, Admiral, what shall I say?" 

" Why say: " Sail on ! Sail on ! and on !" 

2. " My men grow mutinous day by day : 

My men grow ghastly, wan and weak." 
The stout mate thought of home, a spray 

Of salt wave washed his swarthy cheek. 
M What shall I say, brave Admiral say, 

If w r e sight naught but seas at dawn?" 
u Why you shall say at break of day : 

4 Sail on ! Sail on ! Sail on ! and on !' " 

3. They sailed and sailed, as winds might blow, 

Until at last the blanched mate said : 
" Why now not even God would know 

Should I and all my men fall dead ; 
These very winds forget their way, 

For God from these dread seas is gone. 
Now speak; brave Admiral, speak and say — M 

u He said : " Sail on ! Sail on ! and on !" 

4. They sailed, they sailed. Then spoke the mate 

u This mad sea shows its teeth to-night, 
He curls his lip, he lies in wait, 

With lifted teeth, as if to bite ! 
Brave Admiral, say but one good word ; 

What shall we do when hope is gone ; 



FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HIS TOBY. 

The words leapt as a leaping sword : 
u Sail on ! Sail on ! Sail on ! and on !" 

5. Then pale and worn, he kept his deck, 

And peered through darkness ; Ah, that night 
Of all dark nights ! And then a speck — 

A light ! A light ! A light ! A light ! 
It grew, a starlit flag unfurled ! 

It grew to be Time's burst of dawn. 
He gained a world ; he gave that world 
Its grandest lessons : u On ! and on !" 

— Joaquin Miller. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate Palos; Genoa; Canary Islands. 

Name the Ships of Columbus. 

Tell something of the childhood of Columbus. 

What is meant by Teneriffe ? 

Who ruled Spain in 1492 ? 



LESSON II. 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN. 

1. Not many generations ago, where you now sit> 
circled with all that exalts and embellishes civilized life, 
the rank thistle nodded in the wind, and the wild fox 
dug his hole unscared. Here lived and loved another 
race of beings. Beneath the same sun that rolls over 
your heads, the Indian hunter pursued the panting deer; 
gazing on the same moon that smiles for you, the In- 
dian lover wooed his dusky mate. 

2. Here the wigwam blaze beamed on the tender and 
helpless, the council-fire glared on the wise and daring. 



THE AMERICAN INDIAN. 5 

Now they dipped their noble Hmbs in your sedgy lakes, 
and now they paddled the light canoe along your rocky 
shores. Here they warred ; the echoing whoop, the 
bloody grapple, the defying death-song, all were here; 
and when the tiger-strife was over, here curled the 
smoke of peace. 

3. Here, too, they worshipped ; and from many a 
dark bosom went up a pure prayer to the Great Spirit. 
He had not written his laws for them on tables of stone, 
but he had traced them on the tables of their hearts. 
The poor child of nature knew not the God of revela- 
tion, but the God of the universe he acknowledged in 
everything around. He beheld him in the star that 
sunk in beauty behind his lonely dwelling ; in the sacred 
orb that flamed on him from his midday throne ; in the 
flower that snapped in the morning breeze ; in the lofty 
pine that defied a thousand whirlwinds ; in the timid 
warbler, that never left its native grove ; in the worm 
that crawled at his feet ; and in his own matchless form, 
glowing with a spark of that light to whose mysterious 
source he bent in humble though blind adoration. 

4. And all this has passed away. Across the ocean 
came a pilgrim bark, bearing the seeds of life and death. 
The former were sown for you ; the latter sprang up in 
the path of the simple native. Two hundred years have 
changed the character of the great continent, and blotted 
forever from its face a whole peculiar people. Art has 
usurped the bowers of nature, and the children of educa- 
tion have been too powerful for the tribes of the ignorant. 
Here'and there a stricken few remain ; but how unlike 
their bold, untamed, untamable progenitors ! The Indian 
of falcon glance and lion bearing — the theme of the touch- 



6 FLASH-LIGHTS OX AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ing ballad, the hero of the pathetic tale — is gone ! and 
his degraded offspring crawl upon the soil where he 
walked in majesty, to remind us how miserable is man 
when the foot of the conqueror is on his neck. 

5. As a race, they have withered from the land. 
Their arrows are broken, their springs are dried up, 
their cabins are in the dust. Their council-fire has 
long since gone out on the shore, and their war-cry is 
fast fading to the untrodden west. Slowly and sadly 
they climb the distant mountains, and read their doom 
in the setting sun. They are shrinking before the 
mighty tide which is pressing them away ; they must 
soon hear the roar of the last wave, which will settle 
over them forever. Ages hence, the inquisitive white 
man as he stands by some growing city will ponder on 
the structure of their disturbed remains, and wonder to 
what manner of persons they belonged. They will live 
only in the songs and chronicles of their exterminators. 
Let these be faithful to their rude virtues, as men, and 
pay due tribute to their unhappy fate, as a people. 

RECREATIONS. 

Who first called these people Indians? 

Describe an American Indian? 

What were their chief occupations? 

What did they worship? 

Have the Indians improved as a race? 

Where is the Indian School in Pennsylvania? 



LESSON III. 



POCAHONTAS. 

1. Pocahontas, whose real name was Matoax, was born in 1595. 
The Indians had a superstition that a person whose real name was 



POCAHONTAS. 7 

unknown could not be injured; and for this reason, Powhatan ordered 
his daughter's real name to be concealed from the Colonists. 

2. Pocahontas is brought into prominence by saving John Smith's 
life when she was but twelve years of age. Smith, who is given the 
honor of having saved the Jamestown Colony from ruin, thinking the 
continent of America less than two hundred miles wide, started with 
two companions from Jamestown to find the South Sea [Pacific 
Ocean] . 1 

3. While on this expedition, Smith was captured by the Indians 
and taken to their Chief, Powhatan. This cruel Chief ordered his 
warriors to execute their captive with war-clubs. Smith was bound 
hand and foot, and stretched upon the ground with his head resting 
upon a stone. 

4. The heavy clubs were raised, when Pocahontas, the favorite 
daughter of Powhatan, rushed from his side, and throwing herself 
upon the captive's neck, begged her father to spare his life. At first 
he refused, but she put her head on Smith's so that the clubs would 
strike her should they descend. Moved by his daughter's words, the 
old Chief spared Smith's life, saying, "L,ive! live! and make neck- 
laces for Pocahontas." After keeping Smith a prisoner for seven 
weeks, Powhatan selected twelve trusted warriors to conduct him 
safely to Jamestown. Pocahontas was devotedly attached to the Colo- 
nists and w T hen they were in want of food, her zeal and benevolence 
never slumbered. 

5. During the winter of 1609, the Colony would have perished had 
it not been that Pocahontas came every few days with other Indian 
girls carrying baskets of corn. When Powhatan plotted the massacre 
of the Jamestown Colony, his little daughter hastened to them on a 
stormy night to reveal the plot and save their lives. 

6. The Indians of which Powhatan was chief were never quite 
friendly and the Colonists determined to have a settlement with them. 
By the gift of "a good kettle" they induced a neighboring tribe of 
Indians to steal Pocahontas for them. The deed was easily accom- 
plished and the Colonists sent word to Powhatan that they would do 
the girl no harm so long as the Indians gave them no trouble. 

7. John Rolfe, a Christian young man, loved the Indian girl w T hen 
she grew to womanhood, and wrote a formal letter to Sir Thomas 
Dale, Governor of Virginia, proposing to marry her, which pleased 
the Governor and likewise Powhatan. In the quaint little church at 

U SOUTH SEA: A name Balboa gave to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, because he 
first saw it to the "South" of him. 



8 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMEBIC AN HI STOUT. 

Jamestown, 1613, she was baptized into the Christian faith as "Lady- 
Rebecca, " and in broken English repeated the marriage vows. 1 The 
union made a firm friend of Powhatan and brought about peace as 
lasting as the life of the Indian King. 

8. In 1616 Rolfe and Pocahontas went to England with Sir Thomas 
Dale. Powhatan sent his son along to count the English people, giv- 
ing him a cane in which he was to cut a notch for each person he saw. 
He returned to his forest home saying, "Count the stars in the sky, 
the leaves on the trees, the sands on the seashore, but not the people 
of England. ' ' Pocahontas, the first of her race to make the voyage, 
was received at the Court of England with the distinction of a Prin- 
cess. 

9. The change from her free forest life to the close house life of 
the city affected Pocahontas unfavorably, and she was taken to Graves- 
end to sail for America, but ere she could leave was attacked by 
smallpox and died March, 161 7, at the age of 22, leaving one son. 
This son, Thomas Rolfe, became a distinguished man in Virginia, and 
from him some of the most prominent Virginian families — Ran- 
dolphs, Boilings, Flemings and others — were descended. 2 

1. A forest-child, amid the flowers at play ! 

Her raven locks in strange profusion flowing ; 
A sweet, wild girl, with eye of earnest ray ; 

And olive cheek, at each emotion glowing ; 
Yet, whether in her gladsome frolic leaping, 
Or 'neath the greenwood shade unconscious sleeping, 

Or with light oar her fairy pinnace rowing, 
Still, like the eaglet on its new-fledged wing, 
Her spirit-glance bespoke the daughter of a king. 

2. But he, that wily monarch, stern and old, 

Mid his grim chiefs, with barbarous trappings 
bright, 

I. KING JAMES was indignant because Rolfe, a man without rank, dared to 
marry into a royal family. The King was jealous, since Rolfe had mar- 
ried an American princess, fearing he would lay claim to the crown of 
Virginia. 
2. Many of the leading families of Virginia have been proud to say that the 
blood of Pocahontas coursed through their veins. 



POCAHONTAS. 9 

That morn a court of savage state did hold. 

The sentenced captive see — his brow how white ! 
Stretch'd on the turf his manly form lies low, 
The war-club poises for its fatal blow, 

The death-mist swims before his darken'd sight : 
Forth springs the child, in tearful pity bold, 
Her head on his declines, her arms his neck enfold. 

3. "The child! what madness fires her? Hence! 

Depart ! 
Fly, daughter, fly ! before the death-stroke rings ; 
Divide her, warriors, from that English heart. " 
In vain ! for with convulsive grasp she clings : 
She claims a pardon from her frowning sire ; 
Her pleading tones subdue his gathered ire ; 
And so, uplifting high his feathery dart, 
That doting father gave the child her will, 
And bade the victim live, and be his servant still. 

4. Nor yet for this alone shall history's scroll 

Embalm thine image with a grateful tear ; 
For when the grasp of famine tried the soul, 

When strength decay'd, and dark despair was 
near, 
Who led her train of playmates, day by day, 
O'er rock, and stream, and wild, a weary way, 

Their baskets teeming with the golden ear ? 
Whose generous hand vouchsafed its tireless aid 
To guard a nation's germ? Thine, thine, heroic 
maid ! 



io FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMEBIC AN HIS TOBY. 

5. The council-fires are quenched, that erst so red 

Their midnight volume mid the groves entwined ; 
King, stately chief, and warrior-host are dead, 
Nor remnant nor memorial left behind : 
But thou, O forest-princess, true of heart, 
When o'er our fathers waved destruction's dart, 

Shalt in their children's loving hearts be shrined ; 
Pure, lonely star, o'er dark oblivion's wave, 
It is not meet thy name should moulder in the grave. 

— Mrs. L. H. Sigourney . 

RECREATIONS. 

Who was John Smith ? Powhatan ? 

Give the three names of Powhatan's little daughter. 

When captured, how did Smith interest the warriors ? 

Tell something of John Rolfe. 

Who went to England in 161 6? 

Tell of Pocahontas in England. 



LESSON IV. 



THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. 

1. While James I was king of England, and before people had 
learned to respect each others' religious opinions, many persons were 
treated cruelly for attempting to worship in their own way. If a man 
did not attend divine service in the Established Church of England, 
he was punished. This led some of the people to leave their native 
land and go to Holland 1 (1608), where they could live in peace and 
enjoy freedom of worship. They remained in Holland about twelve 
years, but seeing that evil influences surrounded their children they 
longed for a home in a land where they might train them in their 
own language and religion. 

2. Hearing of America — the native land of liberty — they decided 
to send a number of their younger men and women across the Atlantic 
to found a colony, to which the others could come. On a beautiful 

I. HOLLAND: These people were called separatists in Holland. 



TEE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS, n 

morning in July, 1620, these "Pilgrims" 1 (so called because they 
wandered from place to place) set sail from Leyden 2 for America in 
two small vessels — the ' 'Mayflower' ■ and the "Speedwell." The 
latter, however, proved to be unfit for the sea and put back into the 
harbor of Plymouth, England. Some of the "Pilgrims" thought that 
the storms which drove them back, showed that their leaving, dis- 
pleased God. The "Mayflower" left England with 102 persons on 
board, but during the voyage one died and a child was born — Pere- 
grine White — so the number remained the same. 

3. These Pilgrims carried with them the principles of a new and 
higher civilization and bore a charter of liberty better than was ever 
known before. After a rough voyage of more than three months they 
dropped anchor in Cape Cod Bay. Before going ashore the little 
company assembled in the cabin of their ship and agreed to "enact 
just and equal laws," for the government of the colony. John Carver 
was chosen the first Governor, and Captain Miles Standish commander 
of the military. 

4. On the 21st of December, 1620, the "sea-wearied Pilgrims," led 
by Mary Chilton, stepped ashore upon a granite bowlder, which has 
since been known as "Forefathers' Rock," and which became the 
stepping stone of New England. On this rock the Pilgrims knelt and 
thanked God for their safe deliverance from the perils of the sea. 
Here they planted the colony of Plymouth, building rude houses 
which during the first winter served more for hospitals than for 
homes. More than half of those who came in the Mayflower died 
during the first six months, yet when spring came not one of the 
Pilgrims thought of returning to England. 

i. The breaking waves dashed high 
On a stern and rock-bound coast, 
And the woods against a stormy sky 
Their giant branches tossed ; 

2. And the heavy night hung dark 
The hills and waters o'er, 
When a band of exiles moored their bark 
On the wild Xew England shore. 

I. PILGRIMS: T ne nrst "band of Pilgrims under John Robinson and William 
Brewster reached Amsterdam, Holland, in 160S; the next year they went 
to Leyden, where they remained 12 years. 
2. LEYDEN! A city in Holland. 



12 FLASH-LIGHTS OX AMERICA!? HISTOR Y. 

3. Not as the conqueror comes, 

They, the true-hearted, came ; 
Not with the roll of the stirring drums, 
And the trumpet that sings of fame ; 

4. Not as the flying come, 

In silence and in fear : 
They shook the depths of the desert's gloom 
With their hymns of lofty cheer. 

5. Amid the storm they sang, 

And the stars heard, and the sea ; 
And the sounding isles of the dim wood rang 
To the anthem of the free. 

6. The ocean-eagle soared 

From his nest by the white wave's foam, 
And the rocking pines of the forest roared : 
This was their welcome home. 

7. There were men with hoary hair 

Amid that pilgrim band ; 
Why had they come to wither there, 
Away from their childhood's land ? 

8. There was woman's fearless eye, 

Lit by her deep love's truth ; 
There was manhood's brow, serenely high, 
And the fiery heart of youth. 

9. What sought they thus afar ? 

Bright jewels of the mine ? 
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war ? 
They sought a faith's pure shrine ! 



THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIMS. T3 

10. Ay, call it holy ground, 

The soil where first the}' trod ! 

They have left unstained what there they found, — 

Freedom to worship God ! 

— Felicia Hemans. 

RECREATIONS. 

Who were the ''Pilgrims"? Why so called? 

Why did they leave Holland? 

What ship brought them to America ? 

What child was born during the voyage ? 

Who was John Carver? Miles Standish? Mary Chilton ? 

What colonv did the Pilgrims found ? 

What is meant by "Forefathers' Rock"? 

Who wrote "Landing of the Pilgrims"? 



LESSON V. 



OLD ROUND TOWER. 

1. The "Old Stone Mill," or "Round Tower," at Newport, R. I., is 
the only thing in America that has had time to forget its birthday, and 
like some huge rock it "remains the dead among the living." His- 
torians, poets and antiquarians 1 have gazed upon the ancient structure 
with interest and tried to understand its mission, and yet it remains 
the "stern round tower of other days." 

2. The structure is a ruin and is built of stone, consisting of a 
circular wall of great strength, supported on eight arches. There are 
two windows and a fireplace, but nothing to show definitely for what 
the building was first used. Within the memory of men now living- 
there still remained a floor above the arches, making a second story 
to the building. The first mention of this structure in American 
annals is by Governor Benedict Arnold 2 in his will in 1677; he calls it 
"my stone built wind-mill," but it is so unlike any other wind-mill 
in America that it is doubted whether it could have been built for 
that purpose. 

3. There is but little doubt that the building existed prior to 
English immigration, and it is asserted by good authority that the 

I. ANTIQUARIANS: Persons who search for the relics, as coins, statues, man- 
uscripts, etc. 
2. Grandfather of Benedict Arnold of Revolutionary fame. He succeeded 
Roger Williams as Governor of Rhode Island in 1657. 



i 4 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Indians when questioned could give no tradition as to the origin of 
the building. The Northmen who visited this continent about the 
year iooo are supposed to have erected the structure, since the style 
of architecture generally used by the Northmen at their homes is the 
same as that found in the "Old Stone Mill." It is the most antique 
building on the American continent, being at least eight centuries 
old, and whether built for a mill, a baptistry or other purposes it will 
have some interest attached to it until it crumbles into dust. 

i. O speak, thou lonely, ancient Tower, 
And tell us by what hand 
Thy walls were built, thine arches reared, 
Thy comely structure, planned ? 
Did Vikings bold — stern seamen gray 
E'er dare to stem the tide 
To plant thy form on distant shores 
And brave the ocean wide ? 

2. Did pirate band from distant isles, 
Seeking a land of gold, 

Erect thine arches high and strong, 

Thy moss-grown walls so old ? 

Did Norman jarl or noble thane, 

Of Saxon race and kin, 

E'er sound his trumpet from thy walls 

And call his vassals in ? 

3. Did Norseman weird in ages past 
Or daring Gaelic clan, 

Construct thy walls for purpose great, 

Antique and lost to man ? 

Perchance as courts in which to praise 

The Lord of life and light, 

Thou dark stern tower of other days, 

Wast built by sable knight. 



OLD ROUND TOWER. 15 

4. Thy birthday lost, man knoweth not, 
Hast thou forgot the date ? 
The hands that moulded thy huge form 
Fold in the grasp of fate. 
Speak thou the secret of thy birth, 
The mystery is. thine own ; 
Speak, e'er thou mingle with the dust, 
Nor leave the truth unknown. 

— D. C. Murphy. 

RECREATIONS. 
Locate the "Old Round Tower." For what purpose built? In what 
paper is the ' 'Tower' ' mentioned ? 
Who were the Northmen ? 
How old is the "Tower"? 
Explain "vikings;" "jarl;" "thane;" "vassals;" "knight." 



LESSON VI 



THE FIRST THANKSGIVING. 

1. The first Thanksgiving in this country dates back to those sad 
but grand old times when the Pilgrim 1 fathers sought liberty of con- 
science on the sterile shore of New England. 

2. After landing on the shores of Massachusetts in December, 
1620, they began clearing away the timber, laying off their little 
farms and erecting houses, and getting everything ready for spring 
sowing. They lived much of the time on the Mayflower 2 which lay 
at anchor in the harbor. 

3. When spring came and everything took on new life, the Pil- 
grims, although they had suffered from the severity of the winter, none 
desired to return to England, but they planted their seed and waited 

!• PILGRIM: A wanderer,— a name applied to such of the Puritans who left 
England to seek homes where they might worship God in their own man- 
ner. 
2- MAYFLOWER: The small ship which carried the 102 Pilgrims from England 
to America; it bore a charter of liberty broader and better than was ever 
known before. 



16 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

to reap a rich crop. But alas, the harvest of 162 1 proved a failure and 
the Colonists were compelled to live on half allowance for six months; 
"the best dish they had was a. bit offish and a .cup of water" and at 
one time only a few grains of corn remained to be distributed amon^ 
the inhabitants of Plymouth. 1 

4. Strong men staggered with weakness from want of food; many 
were stricken down with disease. Death, the greatest of all reapers, 
caused them every second day to dig a new grave in the frozen 
ground, and in a few short months their number was reduced from 
one hundred and twenty to nearly one-half that number. The heroic 
spirits of those who remained never gave up; they never murmured 
but were grateful amid all these privations because they had freedom 
of thought and worship. 

5. Governor Winthrop, seeing that the supply of food was likely to 
run short, had sent the ship Lyon to Kngland for a load of provisions. 
Storms delayed the ship so long that the people at Plymouth were 
forced to live on clams, groundnuts and acorns. Famine stared them 
in the face. Finally a day of fasting was ordered. From each lowly 
hut and cottage went the Pilgrims through the drifting snow to the 
bleak little church in the village. 

6. No sooner had the Puritans 2 assembled in the church than 
some one saw the good ship Lyon dropping her anchor in the harbor, 
bringing relief and large supplies of food. 

7. Immediately the fasting was turned into a day of thanksgiving 
and their praises in song and prayer went echoing through the mighty 
forests which surrounded them. 

''Governor Winthrop sent four men fowling to add the wild turkey 
to their feast. ' ' Massasoit, a friendly Indian, and his w T arriors, ninety 
in all, were invited to join in thanksgiving. 

They came bringing with them "abundant venison. " The people 
of the Colony gave themselves up to recreations, and for three days 
they had a merry time in the wilderness. 

i. We had gathered in our harvests, 
And stored the yellow grain, 
For God had sent the sunshine, 
And sent the plenteous rain ; 

|. PLYMOUTH: The place where the Pilgrims settled in Massachusetts. 
2- PURITAN: A term applied (1564) to those who were not satisfied with church 
affairs in England as established by Henry VIII. 



THE FIRST THANKSGIVING. i 7 

Our barley-land and corn-land 
Had yielded up their store, 
And the fear and dread of famine 
Oppressed our homes no more. 

2. As the chosen tribes of Israel, 
In the far years of old, 

When the summer fruits were garnered, 

And before the winter's cold, 

Kept their festal week with gladness, 

With songs and choral lays, 

So we kept our first Thanks-giving 

In the hazy autumn days. • 

3. Through the mild months of summer, 
We had built us pleasant homes, 

So that now we fear no danger, 
When the angry winter comes ; 
We can sit by cheerful firesides, 
And watch the flickering ray, 
When the storms of ocean gather, 
And howl around the bay. 

4. We think with grief and sadness 
Of the gloomy months gone by, 
When want was in our dwellings, 
And we saw our loved ones die ; 
But when our well filled garners 
Moved all our hearts to praise, 
We kept our glad Thanks-giving 
In the soft October days. 

5. We sent our keen eyed gunners 
To the forest haunts for game. 



IS FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

And with ample wealth of wild fowl, 
Rejoicing home they came ; 
And our good Indian neighbors, 
With whom we live in peace, 
Brought in their gift of hunted deer, 
Our larder to increase. 

6. And Massasoit the chieftain, 
Was present with us then ; 
He came to share our banquet 
With his ninety dusky men ; 
So for three days we feasted, 
With sports, and games, and plays, 
And kept our first Thanks-giving 
In the fair autumnal days. 

7. The winds breathed gently on us 
From out the mild South-west ; 
They come, the Indians tell us, 
From the islands of the blest ; 

And the sun and moon looked kindly 
From the still heights above, 
As if to cheer our banquet, 
And bless our feast of love. 

8. And our brave Captain Standish, 
Brought up mid war's alarms, 
Led out his small but trusty band 
His sturdy men-at-arms ; 

He showed the Indian warriors 
Our military ways ; 
For so we kept ThanKs-giving 
In those hazy autumn days. 



TEE FIRST THANKSGIVING. 19 

9. We thought of dear old England, 
Dear, though to us unkind ; 
Of the fond familiar faces 
That we had left behind ; 
But England cannot wean us 
Back from our forest home, 
Where we lay our sure foundations 
For the better years to come. 

10. So we passed the days in gladness. 
In social joy and mirth, 
As those who have their dwelling-place 
As yet upon the earth ; 
But to the Lord our God we brought 
Our gifts of prayer and praise ; 
So we kept our first Thanks-giving 
In the dreamy autumn days. 

— Increase Tarbox 

RKCREATIONS. 

Who were the Pilgrims ? Who was Massasoit ? 
Why did the Pilgrims come to this country ? 
How did they fare in the new country ? 
Tell about "fasting" and "feasting." 



LESSON VII 



BURIAL OF DB SOTO. 

1. Among the early adventurers in America was Ferdinand De 
Soto. He began life as a soldier in the West Indies, having as his 
only possessions a sword and a shield. At the head of a body of 
cavalry, he accompanied Pizarro 1 in an expedition to Peru. During 

I. PlZARRO conquered Peru and captured all the wealth of the Incas— the 
kings and princes of Peru before the conquest by the Spaniards. 



2o FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

this expedition De Soto won the confidence of his commander. He 
engaged in many perilous exploits and gained for himself the distinc- 
tion of being a brave and skillful soldier. 'Returning to Spain he 
lived in great magnificence. He married the daughter of the noble 
under whom he had fought as a soldier. Being a man of wealth and 
social standing, he was a favorite at the Spanish court. 

2. Charles V, the Emperor, granted him permission to conquer, at 
his own cost, the territory of Florida. * He fitted out a fleet of nine 
vessels, and selected 600 men to sail with him to the New World. 
Arriving at Cuba, they remained there for some time before sailing 
for Florida. Besides the 600 soldiers, mechanics and priests also 
came with De Soto. He also brought two hundred horses — the first 
brought to America — and a herd of swine. Sailing from Havana, De 
Soto landed two weeks later on the coast of Florida. He was deter- 
mined not to return until he had accomplished his mission, and to 
make it impossible to go back, he sent all his ships to Cuba. 

3. Then he began the march through the wilderness and swamps 
of Florida. The natives were their guides, save one — John Ortiz — a 
survivor of Narvaez's party, whom De Soto had found. This man had 
been among the Indians for twelve years, and like Smith, 2 had been 
saved from death by an Indian chief's daughter. De Soto's line of 
march was northwest, and with armed men carrying banners they 
wandered through the unbroken forests of Georgia, Alabama and 
Mississippi in search of gold. The "wily natives" led them on, telling 
them of rich treasures beyond. Thus the Indian guides led the 
Spaniards into dangers in order to reduce their ranks by disease and 
death. De Soto made a demand upon the natives for two hundred 
men to carry the burdens of the soldiers. This brought on a war in 
which De Soto lost many men. On and still on they marched, until 
April ( 1541 ) of the second year of their wanderings, when they came 
in sight of the Mississippi 3 — the first Europeans to see this great river. 

5. Spending a month in making boats they crossed and marched 
on two hundred miles in search of the gold which the Indians told 
him was farther West. Not finding any El Dorado, 4 De Soto returned 

I. FLORIDA: The land discovered by De I^eon on Easter Sunday, 1512, and 
named by him in honor of the day (Pasqua Florides). 

2. JOHN SMITH! Whose life was saved by Pocahontas, an Indian maid. 

[Barnes' Brief History, page 48.] 

3. MISSISSIPPI: An Indian word meaning, "The Father of Waters," and the 

original spelling of which was "Meche Sebe." This spelling is still used 
by the IyOuisiana Creoles. 

4. EL DORADO: a fabulous region in any country supposed to be immensely 

rich in gold, gems, etc. 



BURIAL OF DE SOTO. 21 

to the river he had discovered and started along its banks to the sea, 
but this proved to be a difficult task because of the marshes, bayous, 
dense forests and the savages. He had already lost two hundred and 
fifty of his men and one hundred and fifty horses. The whole com- 
pany were worn out because of hardships. In May, 1542, De Soto, 
stricken with fever, died. His body was hidden three days and then 
buried in the camp, but fearing the Indians would get it, his com- 
panions took up the body and dropped it, at midnight, from a boat 
into the Mississippi river. Then, after many miles of wandering and 
hardships, he slept in peace at the bottom of the river he had 
discovered. 

6. The remaining soldiers, three hundred in all, made seven rude 
boats and sailed to the gulf, a distance of five hundred miles, in seven- 
teen days. They reached a Spanish settlement in Mexico, and from 
there returned to Spain. 

i. 'Tis midnight ; not a star's alight 
Within the gloomy sky. 
The dark and sullen waters 
Of a river hurry by, — 
The mightiest river of the West, 
Except where, far away 
The Amazon rolls countless leagues 
Hid from the light of day. 

2. 'Tis midnight, and a muffled tread 
Sounds dull upon the air. 

'Tis soldiers carrying the dead 
And softly marching there ; 
It is a martial form and grand 
They bear upon the bier, 
A form that over many a land 
Has led them far and near. 

3. Thro' many a southern forest's shade, 
Amid their gloom and damp, — 



2 2 FLASH-LIGHTS OX AMERICAN HIS TOR Y. 

Thro' Florida's wild everglade, 
Thro' Mississippi's swamp, — 
That gallant chief before his men 
Has ridden proud and brave. 
Alas ! he'll never ride again ! 
They bear him to his grave. 

4. Hist ! softly ! lest on Indian ear 
Your muffled footsteps sound. 
The savages are quick to hear, 
O, scarcely touch the ground ! 

They reach the shore; they man the boats ; 

They lay him gently in ; 

Deep sobs arise in manly throats, 

Dark Spanish eyes grow dim. 

5. They row — they pause ; without a sound 
That dark form seeks the wave, 

The mighty river he has found 
Becomes De Soto's grave. 

— M. J. Reynolds, 

RECREATIONS. 

Tell something of Pizarro; Charles V. 

Tell the story of De Soto's coming to America. 

What did he bring to America ? 

Through what States did De Soto march ? 

What river did he discover ? When ? 

When did De Soto die ? 

Why did his companions hide his body ? 

Where was he finally buried ? 

Tell about his remaining soldiers. 



TEE STORY OF PENN. 23 

LESSON VIII. 



THE STORY OF PENN. 

1. During the period of the persecutions of religious people in 
Europe, none were worse maltreated than the Quakers, a religious 
sect that believed in simple forms of worship. ' 'They believed the 
way most pleasing to the Father was for them to go into their 
churches, with no minister, no singing, no praying, and sit there in 
perfect silence, fixing their minds onty on holy things. ' ' This was so 
different from the elaborate form of worship in other churches that 
it created great excitement. People thought the Quakers' actions 
showed that the}^ had gone mad, and at once began to persecute them. 

2. When this had continued for some time a man arose 
among the Quakers and called the Friends together and found a 
place of safety for them. William Penn was the son of a wealthy 
English Admiral, who had been brought up to believe only in the 
English church, and to hold in contempt Puritans and Quakers. H e 
had sent his son William to Oxford College, and while the boy was 
there he became a Quaker. He would not wear the surplice which 
was required of students, and he helped tear the surplice off some other 
students, and for this was expelled. Imagine his father's astonish- 
ment when William came home dressed in the garb of a Quaker, and 
told his father he had joined the much abused people and had been 
expelled from college. 

3. His father argued with him and scolded him, and finally sent 
him to Paris and Cork, hoping that the gay life of these cities would 
cure him of his "foolish notions," as his father expressed it; but the 
voung man returned a Quaker. The elder Penn's patience was 
exhausted when the young man refused to doff his hat to the King 
and the Duke of York. He was allowed to remain at home, but his 
father would not talk with him and would not even look at him. 

4. When the elder Penn died, William fell heir to a large fortune. 
He came at once to America with a large party of Quakers and began 
a settlement where they might worship in peace. He called the set- 
tlement Philadelphia, meaning "Brotherly Love." The English 
Government owed William Penn's father ^16,000 for serving as 
Admiral in the English Navy, and the King gave to William Penn 
40,000 square miles of territory lying West of the Delaware. Penn 
was not willing to take the land from the Indians without paying 
them for it. 



24 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

5. He held a counsel with the Indians under a large tree and there 
made a treaty with thern, a treaty which deserves to serve as a model 
through life. "We meet," said the great and good Penn, "on the 
broad pathway of good faith and good will. No advantage shall be 
taken on either side. I will not call you children, for parents chide 
their children too severely; nor brothers only, for brothers differ. I 
will not compare the friendship between you and me to a chain, for 
that might be rusted by the rain; or a falling tree might break it. 
But let us feel that we are the same as if one man's body were to live 
in two separate parts; for we are one in mankind; we are all one flesh 
and blood. " 

6. The great oak under which the treaty was made has long since 
decayed and fallen, but in its place stands a beautiful monument 
which speaks the story of Penn. 

i. Pennsylvania, the land of the Quaker, 

The home of the brave Palatine — 
The State that for honor and labor 

Is the grandest that ever has been, 
Brave men have been reared in her borders; 

Noble deeds have been done on her soil, 
Her mountains, how grand! and her waters 

Are teeming with blessings for all. 

2. All hail! William Penn, the great Quaker, 

Who came to the famed Delaware, 
And administered justice with favor; 

Whose dealings with all men were fair. 
He laid broad and deep the foundation 

Of a State that is noble and true — 
Built on liberty and education, 

The home of the Red, White and Blue. 

- -Dr. S. A. Barr. 

RECRKATIOXS. 

Who were the Quakers? What their belief? 

What school did William Penn attend ? 

What did William Penn do which was against his father's will ? 

What did Penn do with his large fortune ? 

What city was founded and what is the meaning ? 

Tell about Penn and the Indians ? 




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5 



LESSON IX. 



WOLFE'S VICTORY. 

i. The most notable event of the French and Indian war was the 
capture of Quebec 1 by General Wolfe. When the war began in 1755, 
there were five strong points held by the French, namely: Acadia, 
Crown Point, Niagara, Fort Duquesne and Quebec. Four of these 
objective points had been captured by the English. Quebec, one of 
the strongest fortresses in the world, and the key to Canada, yet 
remained in the hands of the French. General Wolfe, who had shown 
great bravery and generalship at Louisburg, was sent with 8,000 
soldiers to capture Quebec. 

2. The position of the city and the forts seemed by their natural 
strength to defy an attack. Again and again W T olfe fired upon the 
city from his gun-boats, but was repulsed each time. The citadel 
stood on a plateau 300 feet above the St. Lawrence, and before the 
English could claim the city they must reach this plateau, called the 
* 'Plains of Abraham," and take this stronghold. Everyplace was 
strongly fortified, and for months Wolfe scanned the craggy bluff 
trying to find some place unguarded. His * 'eagle eye" caught sight of 
a steep and narrow path which led to the "Plains" above the city. %j£ 

3. Up this precipitous path the General determined to lead his 
troops, but before his plans could be carried out, he was prostrated by 
a fever. While yet too weak to leave his bed, he planned the scaling 
of the "Heights" and storming the citadel. 2 The preparations for 
this enterprise were made so vigorously and secretly that the French 
never suspected the designs of the English. 

3 4. General Wolfe and his fleet sailed up the river to a place called 
"Wolfe's Cove." Waiting until after midnight he put his men into 
boats, muffled the oars and silently rowed down the river. Wolfe was 
the idol of his soldiers, and as he went the rounds for inspection on 
that beautiful night previous to the battle, he quoted stanzas from 
Gray, a poet whom he greatly admired. One stanza from "Elegy in 
a Country Churchyard," seemed to impress itself upon his mind, and 
mingled with the rippling of the waters against the boats was Wolfe's 
voice as he repeated 

I. QUEBEC! This was the strongest fortress on the continent, and the key to 

Canada. 
2. CITADEL *, The highest point in a fortified city. 



26 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

I 

"The boast of heraldry, the pomp of power, 
And all that beauty, all that wealth e'er gave 

Await alike the inevitable hour, 
The paths of glory lead but to the grave." 

5. It may be that as he uttered these lines the shadow of his own 
approaching fate stole across his inind. Turning to his men about 
him he said, "Gentlemen, I would rather have written those lines 
than take Quebec to-morrow." landing at the foot of the secret 
path, which General Wolfe had discovered, the troops left their boats 
and began to climb the almost perpendicular cliffs, pulling themselves 
up by the aid of projecting roots and branches. At daybreak, Wolfe's 
army of five thousand men was drawn up in line of battle on the 
"Plains of Abraham." General Montcalm, the French commander, 
who had been extremely vigilant, was amazed to see the glittering 
bayonets of an army above him, and at once ordered an attack saying, 
4 'We must crush them with our numbers. ' ' 

6. The superior discipline of the English was evident. They 
awaited the approach of the French, and when the latter were within 
a few rods, poured a volley into their ranks. General Wolfe then 
placed himself at the head of his army, and ordered a bayonet charge. 
He was wounded, but pressed on until he received a ball in his breast. 
Being about to fall, he said to his officers, "Support me; don't let 
brave men see me drop. The day is ours; keep it." As they bore 
him to the rear some one said, ' 'They run ! They are giving away 
everywhere." "Who run"? exclaimed the brave leader. "The 
French," was the reply. "Now God be praised; I die happy," said 
the dying hero. 

7. During the struggle Montclam also received a fatal wound, and 
when told he could live but a few hours, said, "So much the better; I 
shall not see the surrender of Quebec." Both generals died like 
heroes, but they found the truth of the words, "Paths of glory lead 
but to the grave. ' ' 

i. Ancient poets, minstrels, sages, 

Love to tell of warriors brave, 
How they conquered cities mighty, 

Fought and died their land to save ; 
But Columbia 1 has a story 

Of a deed both calm and bold, 

1. COLUMBIA: A popular name for America. 



WOLFE'S VICTORY. 27 

Which excels all ancient valor, 
Oft repeated, ne'er grows old. 

2. Never knight in shining armor 

Gained a victory more complete, 
Or attained a prize more worthy 

To be laid at monarch's feet, 
Than did Wolfe, the English leader, 

When he took the strongest hold 
Of the French this side the water ; 

When he gained Quebec the old. 

3. Old Quebec, the " New Gibraltar," 1 

Reared her towers on summits high, 
With her guns along the hill-tops 

Seemed to thunder from the sky ; 
And the English in their vessels 

Were repulsed from day to day 
By the French who held the city, 

And the lands for miles away. 

4. But the prize was worth the conflict. 

And the English general's eye 
Long and closely scanned the ramparts 

Where they rose so steep, so high ; 
Fortress of the blue St. Lawrence, 

Many times besieged in vain, 
Like the heights of " Old Gibraltar " 

On the rugged coasts of Spain. 

5. Ever eager, ever watchful, 

Resting not by night or day, 

I. "NEW GIBRALTAR": So named because of its likeness to Gibraltar in 
Spain. 



26 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Till he spied a little inlet 

And beyond, a narrow way 
Leading upward to the hill-tops, 

Where the brave and stern Montcalm 
Held the forts and marshalled armies 

On the " Plains of Abraham.'' 1 

6. England's cause hung in the balance ; 

Wolfe, her leader, in the fight, 
As an ancient Spartan valiant, 

Daring as a Saxon Knight, 2 
Planned to storm the frowning fortress 

Which overlooked the ancient town, 
And present the spoils of victory 

To his honored country's Crown. 

7. Slowly sailing up the river, 

As if weakened by the foe, 
Miles away from threat'ning cannon 

Now the English vessels go ; 
Till they reach a safer harbor 

Where they soon at anchor lay ; 
While the leaders meet in council 

Who command the coming day. 

8. 'Twas an hour after midnight 

That the young commander spoke ; 
" When we row to-night by starlight 

With a muffled oar and stroke 
To the foot of yonder mountain, 

Then, with silent step and slow, 

1. '* PLAINS OF ABRAHAM ": A plateau lying back of the city of Ouebec 
2. SAXON KNIGHT : Noted for valor, honor, gallantry, aad chivalry. 



WOLFE'S VICTORY. 29 

We will climb the rugged foot-path 
And to certain victory go." 

9. In the starlight clear and silent, 

On the sparkling current, down 
Float the English boats, like shadows, 

Toward the unsuspecting town. 
Landing at the narrow pathway, 

All the summit quickly gain, 
And before the morrow's dawning, 

Stand upon the open plain. 

10. While the city still was sleeping 

Like a city of the dead, 
Cannon sounded forth like thunder, 

Filling all who waked with dread ; 
Sounded through the French encampment 

Like an earthquake in the night ; 
Filled their leader with amazement 

And their soldiers with affright. 

11. Ere the sun had reached the zenith, 1 

On that bright September day, 
Fiercely waged the bloody conflict, 

Hundreds dead and dying lay. 
Wolfe had ordered: "Put two bullets 

In each gun; then ready stand; 
When but forty rods divide us, 

Fire with firm and steady hand." 

12. Like a ship upon the ocean, 

When she strikes a hidden rock ; 

I. ZENITH : That point in the heavens directly overhead. 



FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

So the French, in rapid motion, 
Wavered from the dreadful shock. 

Scattered are their gay battalions ; 
Officers command in vain ; 

For they fly, and, once so valiant, 
He, the proud Montcalm, is slain. 

13. Wolfe, the bayonet charge was leadings 
When a comrade heard him call : 
"The day is ours, but I am wounded ; 
Don't let brave men see me fall." 
Dying in defeat or victory, 

Soundly sleep both heroes brave ; 
Sadly they have learned the lesson : 
u Glory leads but to the grave." 

— I). 0. Murphy. 

RECREATIONS. 

Name the five objective points in the French and Indian War. 

Who was in command of the French at Quebec in 1755 ? 

Tell something of Wolfe's life previous to the battle of Quebec. 

W T hat stanza of poetry did Wolfe quote ? 

W r hat did he say about it ? 

Tell of Wolfe's victory, and his last words. 

What did both Generals learn ? ' 



LESSON X. 



"BOSTON TEA PARTY." 

t . The principal cause of the Revolutionary war, as expressed by 
Americans, was "taxation without representation," which means that 
England taxed the Colonists, but did not permit them to have men in 
Parliament to speak for the Colonies, and help to make the laws, which 



BOSTON TEA PARTY. 31 

governed them. The Colonists denied this right of the "mother coun- 
try" 1 to tax them, and agreed among themselves not to use any article 
made in England. 

2. So odious had the laws become, that many like Samuel Adams, 2 
bound themselves "to eat nothing, drink nothing, and wear nothing' ' 
brought from England until all taxes were removed. Meetings were 
held and associations formed in all the colonies under the title of 
"Sons of Liberty," whose object it was to oppose the unjust course of 
the British government. Alarmed at these movements on the part of 
the people in the colonies, England removed the tax from everything 
except tea. 

3. In order to induce the Colonists to buy taxed tea, England made 
arrangements with the East India Company, which had 17,000,000 
pounds of tea lying in English warehouses, to furnish the Americans 
tea on which was a tax of three pence per pound. Thus with the tax 
included, tea was made cheaper than it could be purchased else- 
where. The Colonists, however, were fighting for principle and not 
for pence, and began to drink tea made of raspberry-leaves, sage and 
sassafras. 

4. The British government sent ships laden with tea to Philadel- 
phia, New York, Boston and Charleston. At the latter place, the 
people refusing to buy the tea, it was stored in damp cellars where it 
soon spoiled. The people of New York and Philadelphia treated the 
teaships as they would a cargo of lepers, 3 and compelled the ships, 
which were sent there by the English government, to return. Boston, 
being held by the British troops, could not do this. Again and again 
did the people of the latter place urge Mr. Rotch, the owner of the 
chief teaship, and Governor Hutchinson to have the ships sent 
back to England. The owner desired to return, but the Governor 
refused him the proper papers for leaving port. 

5. The patience of the people was exhausted, and they proceeded 
to settle the matter according to their own ideas. On the 16th day of 
December, 1773, meetings were held in Faneuil Hall, 4 and the Old 
South Church, where it was decided that the tea should never be 

I MOTHER COUNTRY: Name applied to England by the Colonists whose 
forefathers were born in that country. 

2 SAMUEL ADAMS: a celebrated patriot. George III offered ^500 for his 
head. 

2 LEPERS: Persons afflicted with a loathsome, incurable disease. 

4. FANUEIL HALL: Built and given to the city of Boston in 1740 by Peter 
Faneuil. It was where patriots met to discuss their liberty. Called "Cra- 
dle of Liberty." 



32 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

landed. Samuel Adams said, ''This meeting can do nothing more to 
save the country. " This seemed to be a signal for immediate action. 
Fifty men with painted faces, and clad in blankets to represent 
Mohawk Indians, each with a hatchet, rushed to the wharf, boarded 
the vessels and emptied three hundred and forty-two chests of tea into 
the water. This is called the "Boston Tea Party"— a very pleasant 
title for a very bold deed. 

i. Boys and girls did you ever hear 

How at Boston harbor in seventy-three, 
With never a care or thought of fear, 

Your forefathers gave an expensive tea ? 
One hundred thousand the supper cost 

And Johnny Bull the expenses bore, 
The Colonists thought the sum well lost, 

Although the supper exhausted their store. 

2. 'Twas not that our fathers could not drink tea 

For they knew where the sage and the sassafras 
grew; 
But the taxes they would not pay you see, 

Although they were light as the falling dew. 
The King's designs were dark and deep, 

Although he sold his tea for a song, 
But principle was not bought so cheap 
And men prepared to resent the wrong. 

3. So rather than yield to tyrannical laws 

And be taxed without voice in making the same, 
The Colonists voted to fight for their cause 

And forever to love fair Liberty's name. 
For when Patrick Henry calm and brave, 

In Virginia said, "No hope, we must fight !" 
It seemed that the crest of the battle wave 

Already rose high for God and the right. 



BOSTON TEA PARTY. 33 

4. Old Faneuil Hall has stories to tell 

Of voices that ring down the aisles of the past ; 
Like the tones of Old Independence Bell, 

They'll be heard through our history to the last. 
When Adams said, "We can do no more 

To save our country by meeting here", 
There rose a shout — "To the nearest shore, 

King George's tea-ships are lying near." 

5. To "Griffin's Wharf" they quickly flew, 

Those "Sons of Freedom" as Indians dressed, 
Rowed out to the ships, alarmed the crew, 

Filling with terror each redcoat's breast. 
They quickly opened the chests of tea 

Till they numbered three hundred forty-two, 
And emptied the contents into the sea 

And quickly left withont an adieu. 

6. Without a fear, they rowed to the dock 

Where friends of justice stood and cheered ; 
'Twas twelve by the Old South Church clock 

When they reached the Hall so much revered. 
Brave and strong was the little band, 

Daring and just the deed they had done ; 
Their story has echoed through every land, 

Since the war with England was there begun. 

7. The patriots rejoiced that moonlight night 

When a British Admiral whom all well knew, 
Called from his window just in sight 

To wait till he'd tell them what to do. 
"You've had a fine night," the Admiral said, 

"For your Indian caper down the bay, 



34 FLASH-LIGHTS OX AMEBIC AX HISTORY. 

But remember boys, those who have led 

In the work to-night, have the fiddler to pay." 

8. u Oh never mind 'Squire", one quickly replied, 
u Just come out please ; we'll settle in cash 
In two minutes time"; but the officer relied 

On the patriot's word and dropped the sash 
And parents who live in the Old Bay State 

Love to tell their children at this late day, 
How tea and taxes both lost their weight 
By sinking that cargo in Boston bay. 

— H. Etta Murphy. 

RECREATIONS. 

What was the principal cause of the Revolutionary War? 

What does "taxation without representation", mean? 

Who were "Sons of Liberty" ? 

To what ports were tea-ships sent ? 

Tell about Governor Hutchinson. 

What can you tell about "Fanueil Hall" ? 

Learn the poem "Boston Tea Party". 



LESSON XL 



MINUTE MEN. 

i. General Gage, who had charge of the British troops about Bos- 
ton in 1775 and '76, learned through spies whom he had sent out, that 
the colonists were collecting guns and ammunition, and hiding them 
in towns near by. It was difficult for Gage to find just where these 
stores of powder and guns were hidden; still as there were Tories 1 in 
every town, it was impossible to keep all hiding places secret. The 
General also learned that companies of colonists were being formec 
and drilled. These were called "Minute Men," since they were to be 

1 TORY was from an Irish word meaning a "savage" — but had come to meat. 
one who adhered to the King. 



MINUTE MEN 35 

ready at a minute's notice to take their guns and hurry to the field of 
battle. 

2. Early in the spring of 1775, Gage was told that in the town of 
Concord, 18 miles from Boston, the colonists had stores hidden. He 
determined to send a body of troops to Concord to destroy the stores. 
The people of Boston, in order to apprize the people of Concord that 
British troops were coming, sent Paul Revere and William Dawes to 
arouse the people and tell the ''Minute Men" to be on the alert. The 
former went by way of Charlestown neck, and galloped through Mid- 
dlesex county arousing the natives. Iyittle did he realize as he went 

that 

"The fate of a nation was riding that night." 

3. William Dawes went by way of Boston neck and Cambridge to 
arouse the people, so that when the British army, which had moved 
so quietly that many farmhouses had been passed without awakening 
the inmates, who were dreaming of liberty, reached Lexington, they 
found one hundred men ready to meet them. Major Pitcairn, who 
had said, ' 'The Yankees needed only to smell powder to make them 
run," found that his idea of colonial bravery was a false one. When 
his troops fired into the Americans at Lexington, Jonas Parker who 
had sworn never to run from the ' 'red-coats, ' ' was the first to fall on 
the American side. Being unable to rise, he was on his knees reload- 
ing his gun when a British officer thrust a bayonet into his heart. 
Six other Americans were killed. The Americans promptly returned 
the fire of the British, wounding three of their number. 

4. The British went on to Concord, and there found the militia 
gathering fast on the neighboring hills. Every boy old enough to 
grasp a musket had hurried to Concord; gray-haired men hobbled to 
the defense of their country. Patriots came pouring in from all direc- 
tions; the landscape was alive with armed men. When the British 
had destroyed the stores, cut down the Liberty Pole, x and burned the 
Court House, they started to leave Concord, but at the North Bridge 
they found a body of armed Americans led by Captain Isaac Davis. 2 
Here was fired the shot that was "heard round the world." The 
British ran pell-mell toward Boston, followed by the patriot;. 

5. The whole country through which they passed seem;d alive 
with "Minute Men." As a British officer afterwards said, 'The 

I. LIBERTY POLE: A hickory pole raised by the colonists on which w s 

placed the Colonial flag. 
2. CAPTAIN ISAAC DAVIS: commander at the North Bridge fell at the first 
fire of the British, and just after saying to his men, "There is not a man 
in my company that's afraid." 



ns 



36 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HIS TOBY. 

Americans seemed to drop from the clouds or spring from the 
ground." Every bush seemed to hold a patriot. From behind trees, 
stone walls, bridges, barns — every place where a man and musket 
could be hidden, the patriots stood ready as the British approached to 
fire into their ranks and then run across the fields, to get other shots 
at the "red-coats." The hills flashed and echoed; the woods rang; 
every step the British took became fuller of danger, and the whole 
road was an endless ambuscade of flame. Late in the evening the 
enemy reached Charlestown, exhausted and gray with dust and mud, 
having lost 300 men. 

i. What heroes from the woodland sprung, 
When, through the fresh-awakened land, 
The thrilling cry of Freedom run, 
And to the work of warfare strung 
The yeoman's iron hand ! 

2. Hills flung the cry to hills around, 
And ocean mart replied to mart, 

And streams, whose springs were yet unfound, 
Pealed far away the startling sound 
Into the forest's heart. 

3. Then marched the brave from rocky steep, 
From mountain river swift and cold ; 

The borders of the stormy deep, 
The vales where gathered waters sleep, 
Sent up the strong and bold, — 

4. As if the very earth again 
Grew quick with God's creating breath, 

And from the sods of grove and glen 
Rose ranks of lion-hearted men, 
To battle to the death. 

5. The wife whose babe first smiled that day, 
The fair, fond bride of yester eve, 



MINUTE MEN. 37 

And aged siix and matron gray, 
Saw the loved warriors haste away, 
And deemed it sin to grieve. 

6. Already had the strife begun ; 

Already blood on Concord's plain 
Along the springing grass had run, 
And blood had flowed at Lexington, 

Like brooks of April rain. 

7. That death stain on the vernal sward 

Hallowed to Freedom all the shore ; 
In fragments fell the yoke abhorred, — 
The footsteps of a foreign lord 

Profaned the soil no more. 

— W. C. Bryant 

RECREATIONS. 

Who were meant by ' ' Minute Men" ? "Tories"? " Spies" ? 
Who was Gage ? Paul Revere ? William Dawes ? 
Explain the term " Yankees" as used by the British. 
Who was the first man killed in the battle of Lexington ? 
What was the result of the battle of Concord ? 



LESSON XII 



PATRIOTS OF '76. 

1. The news of Lexington and Bunker Hill spread through the 
colonies like wildfire. Messengers on swift horses hurried the sum- 
mons South and West. i 'It was one day in New York, the next in 
Philadelphia, still the next in Baltimore," thence it went on until all 
the colonies knew that American blood had been shed. Washington 



38 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

was on his way to Cambridge 1 to take charge of the colonial armies 
when he heard of the conflict. He asked, "Did the militia stand 
fire ? ' ' When told that they stood ready until the enemy were within 
eight rods, and then fired with deadly effect, Washington exclaimed, 
"The liberties of the country are safe." 

2. The effect of Bunker Hill, in which the untrained colonists 
fought the trained troops of King George, 2 was to confirm the belief 
that, with plenty of ammunition, they could defeat the British. With 
one impulse they sprung to arms; with one spirit they pledged them- 
selves to each other to be ready for the extreme event; with one heart 
they cried out with Patrick Henry 3 , "Give me liberty or give me 
death." 

3. Bunker Hill had inspired the colonists, and they immediately 
began to make preparations for war. All over the Colonies, women 
were spinning and weaving cloth for blankets and clothing. Men were 
busy making swords out of old scythes, and repairing guns which had 
been thrown aside — turning every leaden and pewter vessel into bul- 
lets. From every farm, men and boys left their plows and seized 
their weapons. Every village had its own company of militia. 4 All 
those who hesitated before, now took one side or the other. Some 
maintained the belief, that they ought to be loyal to the king, but a 
large majority of the colonists thought it would be better to be sepa- 
rated from England. 

4. In some communities, the feeling ran high and there was danger 
of civil feuds. Those who were proprietors of large estates under the 
English, were favorable to King George. 

5. 'Twas a beautiful morning soon after the battle of Bunker Hill, 
when in one of the colonies the church bell rang out the hour of wor- 
ship. From all parts of the village and country round, the colonists 
came to the little church that stood midst elm and oak. 

6. Lord Berkely 5 and his family, attended as usual, and occupied 
the most prominent place in the church. About him, in humbler places, 
sat the farmers and mechanics with their wives and children. The 

I. CAMBRIDGE: The seat of Harvard College, near Boston. 

2. KING GEORGE III ! Who ruled England during the Revolution. 

3. PATRICK HENRY ! A patriot, who claimed that England had no right to tax 

the colonies. His speech before the Virginia House of Burgesses, gained 
for him the reputation, at the age of 29, of being "the greatest orator of a 
land abounding with public speakers and statesmen." 

A' MILITIA: The body of citizen-soldiers who are engaged in actual service, 
only in time of sudden danger. 

5, LORD BERKELEY: Supposed to be a descendent of Governor Berkeley of 
Virginia fame. 



PATRIOTS OF "76. ^ 

weeks previous had been those of great excitement in the colony, ove 
the news from the North. 

7. Berkeley, the lord of the estate, who had tried to keep down 
the patriotic spirit, had a frown on his face. The pastor on that day 
took for his text, "The Lord of hosts shall arm the right." His ser- 
mon was full of patriotism and of defiance to the King of England. 
Berkeley quaked under the pastor's bold words, and when he could no 
longer endure his feelings, he sprung to his feet and cried, "Cease, 
traitor! God's house is a house of peace!" The pastor grew more elo- 
quent and called on those who wanted freedom to follow him, and 
thus saying, he left the church followed by scores of patriots to take 
up arms against England. 

i. The pastor came : his snowy locks 

Hallowed his brow of thought and care ; 
And calmly, as the shepherds lead their flocks, 
He led into the house of prayer. 



The pastor rose ; the prayer was strong ; 
The psalm was warrior David's song ; 
The text, a few short words of might, — 
u The Lord of hosts shall arm the right ! " 

He spoke of wrongs too long endured, 
Of sacred rights to be secured ; 
Then from his patriot tongue of flame 
The startling words for Freedom came. 
The stirring sentences he spake 
Compelled the heart to glow or quake, 
And, rising on his theme's broad wing, 
And grasping in his nervous hand 
The imaginary battle-brand, 
In face of death he dared to fling 
Defiance to a tyrant king. 



4 o FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

4. Even as he spoke, his frame, renewed, 
In eloquence of attitude, 

Rose, as it seemed, a shoulder higher ; 
Then swept his kindling glance of fire 
From startled pew to breathless choir ; 
When suddenly his mantle wide 
His hands impatient flung aside, 
And, lo ! he met their wondering eyes, 
Complete in all a warrior's guise. 

5. A moment there was awful pause, — 
When Berkeley cried, "Cease, traitor ! cease ! 
God's temple is the house of peace ! " 

The other shouted, "Nay, not so, 
When God is with our righteous cause ; 
His holiest places then are ours, 
His temples are our forts and towers 
That frown upon the tyrant foe ; 
In this, the dawn of Freedom's day, 
There is a time to fight and pray ! " 

6. And now before the open door — 
The warrior-priest had ordered so — 
The enlisting trumpet's sudden roar 
Rang through the chapel, o'er and o'er, 
Its long reverberating blow, 

So loud and clear, it seemed the ear 
Of dusty death must wake and hear. 
And there the startling drum and fife 
Fired the living with fiercer life ; 
While overhead, with wild increase, 
Forgetting its ancient toll of peace, 
The great bell swung as ne'er before. 



PATRIOTS OF "76. 41 

It seemed as it would never cease ; 
And every word its ardor flung 
From off its jubilant iron tongue 
Was, "War ! War ! War ! " 

"Who dares?" — this was the patriot's cry, 
As striding from his desk he came, — 
"Come out with me, in Freedom's name, 
For her to live, for her to die ? " 
A hundred hands flung up reply, 
A hundred voices answered, "I ! " 

— Thomas Buchanan Bead. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate Cambridge. For what noted ? 

Tell something of George III. 

What did women do toward aiding Colonists ? 

What is meant by a traitor ? 

From what psalm was the minister's text taken? 



LESSON XIII. 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 

1. The Americans, in 1775, learning in some way that General 
Gage intended fortifying the hills abont Boston, determined to antici- 
pate him, and fortify Bunker Hill which is in sight of Boston. On the 
night of June 16th, Colonel Prescott collected 1,000 men on the Cam- 
bridge Common, and after prayer by the President of Harvard Col- 
lege, started with them for Bunker Hill. They moved under the cover 
of darkness, and Colonel Prescott, ' 'obeying the orders as he under- 
stood them, selected Breed's Hill lying near Boston." 

2. It was after the clocks in that city had struck the hour of twelve, 
and while the British were sleeping, that Colonel Gridley, who plan- 
ned the fortifications before Louisburg in 1745 during King George's 



42 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

war, 1 marked out the ground for a redoubt. 2 The patriots went to 
work with pick and shovel to throw up entrenchments. As they 
worked they could hear from the British war ships, 3 the sentinels 
say, "All's well!" at intervals through the night. So quietly did 
they work that the morning dawned before the British were aware of 
their movements. 

3. During the night other patriots arrived and took places in the 
ranks, so that when the sun rose in all its splendor on the morning of 
the 17th, it shown on a fortification six or seven feet in height, behind 
which were 1,500 men who had worked all night. The British, seeing 
the embankment, began pouring shot and shell into the works from the 
gunboats. General Gage, in Boston with his field glass, watched Colo- 
nel Prescott as he moved about the earth-works on the hill. Gage 
inquired, "Who is that tall man who seems to be directing the 
work?" "That is Colonel Prescott," said a bystander. "Will he 
fight? " inquired Gage. "To the last drop of blood," said a loyalist. 

4. At noon the American redoubt was finished, and the patriots 
laid down the pick and shovel, took up the musket and prepared to 
meet the British. Gage sent General Howe with 3,000 British reg- 
ulars to drive the Americans from the hill. It was noon before the 
British troops were all landed in Charlestow T n opposite Boston; it was 
3 p. M. before they were formed in line at the foot of the hill. While 
these things were going on, General Israel Putnam 4 was riding from 
place to place on the hill cheering the men. In Boston, thousands 
of people climbed upon housetops, into steeples and trees, and to 
tops of hills to get a better view of the engagement which they knew 
must follow. 

5. The first man that fell that day was struck by a ball from one of 
the gunboats. "He was terribly mutilated," so that the soldiers who 
w T ere mostly farmers, and w T ho were unused to such sights, gathered 
about his body. 

Colonel Prescott was fearful of the effect, and ordered that the man 
be buried, saying, "He is the first man that has been killed, and he is 
the last one that will be buried to-day." 

I KING GEORGE'S WAR: War between French and English colonists in 
America. (1744-1748.) 

2 REDOUBT: An enclosed work, for the purpose of fortification. 

3 W ARSHIPS : These were lying at the foot of Copp's Hill near Boston. 

4 ISRAEL PUTNAM : Familiarly known as "Old Put". Noted for his courage. 

He entered a wolf's den on one occasion and shot a wolf by the light of 
its own eyes. The British offered him money and the rank of Major- 
General to desert the American cause, but he could not be bribed by gold 
or honors. 



TEE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 43 

6. The day was intensely hot, and the British soldiers, burdened 
with heavy knapsacks and struggling through the long grass, moved 
up slowly toward the intrenchments, where they expected easy vic- 
tory. Behind those rude mounds in front of them, lay 1,500 brave and 
determined patriots waiting the attack. The American officers ordered 
the men not to fire until the enemy were very close, or to make it 
more easily understood, the commander said, ''Don't fire until you can 
see the whites of their eyes and then fire at their belt." The orders 
were obeyed, and when the British were within about ten rods of the 
redoubt Colonel Prescott shouted, "Fire"! and instantly there was a 
rattle of musketry. When the smoke cleared away, it was seen that 
hundreds of the British had been mowed down like grass before the 
scythe. A great shout burst from the American lines, while the Brit- 
ish who were able fled down the hill. 

7. Charlestown w^as set on fire, in order that the army might march 
up under the cover of the smoke which filled the air like dense cloud* 
but when within a short distance of the American lines, the smoke was- 
lifted by an unseen power and the long lines of the British revealed. 
These made a rush for the patriots' redoubt, but the front ranks were 
again mown down; whole ranks of officers and men were prostrated 

8. One thousand fresh troops having arrived from British head- 
quarters in Boston, it was arranged to make a third attack. The 
British army w T as divided, some going to Morton's Point 1 and attack- 
ing from that side of the hill. The ammunition of the Americans was 
nearly gone before the last attack, but they fired their last rounds and 
then used the butts of their guns, clubs and stones, fighting hand to 
hand and slowly retreating from the hill. During the engagement 
the distinguished patriot, General Warren, 2 was killed. 

9. When Howe heard of his death, he exclaimed, "That is equal to 
the loss of five hnndred men to the Americans." Washington, who 
was on his way to Boston to take charge of the armies, hearing how 
the Americans fought at Bunker Hill, said, "The liberties of the coun- 
try are still safe." The fallen patriots are commemorated by a monu- 
ment, the corner stone of which was laid by LaFayette, 3 when fifty 
years after, he was visiting America. 

I. MORTON'S POINT: Northeast of Bunker Hill. 

2. GENERAL WARREN: A British officer who knew him seized a gun and 

shot him. He was buried near the spot where he fell. He was one of 
America's truest sons. 

3. LAFAYETTE; A Frenchman who fought for America during the Revolu- 

tion , and came again as the "Nation's Guest" in 1824, at which time he 
was welcomed by tokens of love of the people. 



44 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

i. When the war-cry of liberty rang through the land, 
To arms sprang our fathers, the foe to withstand. 
On old Bunker Hill their entrenchments they rear, 
When the army is joined by a young volunteer. 

2. " Tempt not death ! " cried his friends ; but he bade 
them good-bye, 
Saying, "Oh, it is sweet for our country to die! " 
The tempest of battle now rages and swells, 
'Mid the thunder of cannon, the pealing of bells ; 
And a light, not of battle, illumes yonder spire — 
Scene of woe and destruction ; 'tis Charlestown on 

fire! 
The young volunteer heedeth not that sad cry, 
But murmurs, " 'Tis sweet for our country to die! " 
With trumpet and banners the foe draweth near ; 
A volley of musketry checks their career. 
With the dead and the dying the hillside is strewn, 
And the shout thro' our line is : "The day is our 



own! " 



"Not yet," cries the young volunteer, "do they fly ; 
Stand firm ; it is sweet for our country to die! " 
Now our powder is spent, and they rally again. 
"Retreat," says our chief, "since unarmed we re- 



main! " 



But the young volunteer lfrigers yet on the field, 

Reluctant to fly and disdaining to yield. 

A shot — ah, he falls! but his life's latest sigh 

Is, " 'Tis sweet, oh, 'tis sweet for our country to die 

And thus Warren fell. Happy death, noble fall, 

To perish for country at Liberty's call. 



t )? 



THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL. 45 

Should the flag of invasion profane evermore 
The blue of our seas or the green of our shores, 
May the hearts of our people re-echo the cry, 
" 'Tis sweet, oh, 'tis sweet for our country to die! " 

— Blue and the Gray. 

RECRKATIOXS. 

Tell something of Col. Prescott; Gen. Gage; Gen. Howe. 
Where is Bunker Hill ? Cambridge Common ? 
What is meant by a redoubt ? A sentinel ? 

Who was Colonel Gridley? General Warren? General Put- 
nam ? Lafayette ? 
What orders were given to the patriots just before the battle ? 
Tell about the preparation for the battle ? 

How many troops had the British ? How many the Americans ? 
Tell about the British attacks. 
What did Washington say about the patriots' work ? 



LESSON XIV. 



BATTLE OF FORT MOULTRIE. 

1. In June, 1776, the people of the Carolinas led on by General 
Charles Lee, nocked to Charleston to guard the city which was being 
approached by a British fleet under Sir Peter Parker. Governor Rut- 
ledge and Colonel Moultrie built a fort on Sullivan's Island, a point 
which commanded the entrance to Charleston harbor. The wood 
used in the construction of the fort was palmetto; a soft, spongy mate- 
rial into which balls from the guns would sink without injuring it. 

2. The logs of the fort were laid in two parallel rows sixteen feet 
apart, and filled in between the rows with sand. Colonel Moultrie was 
in charge with 500 men when the British fleet arrived and began to 
bombard the works. The vessels poured a tempest of balls upon the 
walls of the fort, but the missiles only buried themselves in the logs, 
without even splitting them. During the hottest part of the fight, the 
flag of South Carolina which bore the device of a crescent, fell over 



46 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

the ramparts, 1 — the flagstaff having been shot away by a ball from 
the enemy's guns. 

3. Sergeant Jasper, a bold young soldier and one of General 
Marion's men, noticed the flag fall, and turning to Colonel Moultrie, 
said, "Colonel don't let us fight without a flag." "What can be 
done?" said Moultrie, "the staff is broken." "Then," said Jasper, 
"I will fix it;" and leaping down from the wall, braving the thickest 
fire from the ships, while the shot struck all about him, he recovered 
the flag and fastening it to a sponge-staff, set it in its place to show 
that the Americans would never give up the fort, so long as there 
were brave men to hold it. This brave act inspired all the soldiers, 
and they cheered the colors when they saw them floating proudly 
once more over the parapet. 2 

4. The next day, Governor Rutledge gave Jasper a sword and 
offered him a lieutenant's commission, but not being able to read or 
write the young hero modestly declined the latter, saying, "I am not 
fit for the company of officers, I am only a sergeant." 

5. This famous battle and the bravery displayed by the gallant 
defenders of the fort, make one of the brightest pages in our history. 
The victory gave the colonists great delight, as it was their first, 
encounter with the boasted ' 'mistress of the seas. ' ' 3 Colonel Moul- 
trie received the thanks of Congress, and the fort was afterward called. 
Fort Moultrie, in honor of its brave commander. 

i. -Twas late in June of seventy-six, 

A clear and beautiful day ; 
Sir Parker's fleet from the stormy North 

Had arrived off Charleston bay, 
And lightly the ships skipped o'er the main, 

With England's red cross on high, 
Which gleaming in the sun again, 

Seemed a meteor in the sky. 

2. Proudly the vessels danced o'er the tide, 
Spurning the bright, rolling wave, 

I- RAMPARTS: An elevation or mound of earth round a place upon which the- 
parapet is placed. 

2. PARAPET : An elevation of earth to protect soldiers. 

3. MISTRESS OF THE SEAS: Name given to England on account of her 

naval supremacy. 




SERGEANT JASPER AND THE FLAG. 



BATTLE OF FORT MOULTRIE. 47 

'Neath which, before the evening's close, 
Would rest the proud and the brave ; 

And many a frigate's shattered spars 
Would float on that lonely bay, 

Beneath the brightly glittering stars, 
Ere there dawned another day. 

3. On sped the ships toward Charleston town, 

The pride of the sunny South, 
Unmolested through the open bay, 

Till they reach the harbor's mouth ; 
Then a flash and a terrible roar 

Broke from the fort on the isle, 

And shot and shell on the vessels pour, 
Mowing down both rank and file. 

4. The Briton's fleet reeled before the stroke, 

And, swinging round in the tide, 
Poured iron hail on the little fort, 

With broadside after broadside. 
The blinding smoke half obscured the sun, 

And hung like a funeral pall, 1 
Shrouding the men of war one by one, 

With their spars and masts so tall. 

5. And still the battle is raging hot, 

Still the red-mouthed cannon roar, 
And ball for ball the Briton receives 

From Moultrie's men on the shore ; 
And the blood-red cross of England's king 

Has met the stripes and stars, 

I. PALL : A large black cloth thrown over a coffin at a funeral. 



48 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Which through the death-dealing cannon's ring 
Have waved o'er the sandy bars. l 

6. Firmly the patriot holds his post, 
Though stormed in front and rear, 
Returning the Briton shot for shot, 

Despising the name of fear. 
A round-shot carried away the staff 
Upon which the emblem waved, 
And the star-bespangled silken scarf 
Will be lost if not soon saved. 

7. Up sprang bold Jasper, 2 cool and brave, 

With the sponge-staff in his hand, 
n.nd over the rampart leaped to save 

The flag of his native land. 
He rushed right into the jaws of death, 

Grasping the glorious prize, 
And, nailing it to the sponging-staff, 

Raised it again to the skies. 

8. And then, leaping back o'er the rampart, 

So cool in the awful din, 
He raised the flag up over the fort, 

Then went to his post again. 
Now night comes on ; still the battle lasts ; 

A British frigate takes fire ; 
The flames leaping up the spars and masts, 

Illumine the scene of ire. 

I. BARS : A bank at the mouth of a river or harbor. 

2. JASPER was killed in 1779 in the battle at Savannah; he died grasping 
the banner presented to his regiment at Fort Moultrie. 



BA TTLE OF FOR T MO UL TRIE. 49 

9. And on the fort in the ruddy glow 

Gleam the red stripes and white stars, 
Outshining in the fiery light 
The burning orb of Mars. 1 
When morning dawned o'er the bloody scene, 

The war-ships, shattered and torn, 
Sailed from the harbor, as if to screen 
Themselves from the eyes of scorn. 

10. And thus the British were driven off 
By the sons of sunny South ; 
They drove them from flourishing Charleston, 

At the dreaded cannon's mouth. 
Then three cheers for the Palmetto State, 2 

And then again three times three 
For her gallant son, the bold and great, 
Dashing young William Moultrie. 

—L. Wheeler. 

RECREATIONS. 



Who was Lee ? Moultrie ? Parker ? Rutledge ? 

Explain the construction of Fort Moultrie. 

Explain the structure of palmetto wood. 

Tell the story of Sergeant Jasper. 

Why could he not accept the Governor's offer? 

What is meant by "Mistress of the Seas" ? 

Note.— Battle of Fort Moultrie reprinted by permission of Dick & Fitzgerald, 
New York. 

I. MARS '. The planet next beyond the earth, conspicuous for the redness of its 

light. 
2. PALMETTO STATE : A popular name for South Carolina. 



5 o FLA SH- LIGHTS OX AMERICA N HIS TOE F. 

LESSON XV. 



INDEPENDENCE BELL. 

i. In the city of Philadelphia stands a building known as "Inde- 
pendence Hall," but which was known in colonial times as the "State 
House." It stands there as a monument to American patriotism, for 
it was in this building that the United States, as a nation, was born 
in a day. It was in this building that the Second Continental Con- 
gress, which had the power of a general government over the colo- 
nies, met May ioth, 1775. ^ this session of Congress, George Wash- 
ington was chosen commander-in-chief of the "Armies of America, " 
and money was raised to carry on a war to resist the repeated attempts 
of the British to put into effect their unjust laws. 1 

2. When the war began, a year before this, no one thought of 
separation from the "mother country," but with the memories of 
Lexington and Concord, and the treatment of the petitions which the 
colonists had sent to the king — it is not strange that when the dele- 
gates from the several colonies convened in the Old State House in 
May, 1776, there should be a strong feeling for independence expressed. 

3. During the session (June 7th) Richard Henry Lee, a delegate 
from Virginia, offered the following: Resolved, "That these united 
colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states." 
When a vote was taken on the resolution, it was found that the colo- 
nies were not of one mind, and it was agreed to lay the resolution on 
the table for two weeks, and in the meantime find out what the differ- 
ent colonies thought of the resolution. 

4. Before that time elapsed, the people in the colonies were aroused 
and were holding public meetings, denouncing the British, and in- 
structing their delegates to vote for independence. Congress appointed 
a committee consisting of Thomas Jefferson, 2 John Adams, .^oger 
Sherman, Benjamin Franklin, and Robert Livingstone to dr^ w uo a 
paper declaring the independence of the American colonies. Thomas 
Jefferson was appointed by the committee to write the c.ocument. 
When completed it proved to be the ' 'most famous state paper ever 

I. UNJUST LAWS ; Refers to navigation acts; stamp acts; mut ; .ny act; Boston 
port bill; trade acts, etc. 

2. THOMAS JEFFERSON: Represesenting Virginia from which the proposi- 
tion emanated, and being elected by the largest number of votes was 
chosen to draft it. He afterwards served two terms as President of the 
• United States. 



INDEPENDENCE BELL. 51 

written." The debate on the resolution, introduced by Lee, lasted 
two days, and was adopted.* Then came the debate on the " Declara- 
tion of Independence. ' ' 

5. Many were undecided as to what to do, but learning that General 
Howe had arrived in New York harbor with a large British fleet, they 
decided that immediate and united action was safest. The final vote 
was taken July 4th, 1776, at 2 p. M., and "Independence" was de- 
clared by a unanimous vote of the thirteen States. When the mem- 
bers of Congress went to the Speaker's desk to sign their names, John 
Hancock, whose name stands first, said, "We must be unanimous; 
there must be no pulling different ways; we must all hang together." 
"Yes," said Benjamin Franklin, "We must all hang together or else 
we shall all hang separately. ' ' 

6. During the day, the streets of Philadelphia were crowded with 
people anxious to learn the final decision. The old bellman, early in 
the day, had taken his place in the steeple ready to ring the bell in 
case the decision was favorable. As the day passed and no word 
came, the old man repeated to himself, ' 'They will never do it ! " 
"They will never do it! " but at 2 p. M., his little grandson whom he 
had placed at the door below to announce the result of the vote, ran 
up the steps shouting, "Ring, Grandpa! Ring!" The old bellman 
grasped the iron tongue of the bell which had been there twenty 
years, and swung it backwards and forwards one hundred times, 
"proclaiming liberty throughout the land." The people in the 
streets caught up the sounds and shouted till the}' were hoarse. Bells 
were rung, cannons fired, the schools had a holiday, and everybody 
rejoiced. Every patriot welcomed the glad news of "liberty and 
union. ' ' 

i. There was tumult in the city, 

In the quaint old Quaker town, 1 
And the streets were rife with people, 

Pacing restless up and down ; 
People gathering at corners, 

Where they whispered each to each, 
And the sweat stood on their temples, 

With the earnestness of speech. 

♦Lee's resolution was formally passed July 2nd, by twelve of the colonies; New 

York alone abstaining from the vote 
I - QUAKER TOWN : So called because it was founded in 1683 by William Penn 
and other Quakers. 



52 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

2. As the bleak Atlantic currents 

Lash the wild Newfoundland shore, 
So they beat against the State House, 1 

So they surged against the door ; 
And the mingling of their voices 

Made a harmony profound, 
Till the quiet street of Chestnut 

Was all turbulent with sound. 

3. "Will they do it ? " "Dare they do it ? " 

"Who is speaking?" "What's the news? 5 * 
"What of Adams ? " "What of Sherman ? » 

"Oh! God grant they won't refuse! r 
"Make some way there! " "Let me nearer! " 

"I am stifling! " "Stifle, then! 
When a nation's life's at hazard, 2 

We've no time to think of men! ' 

4. So they surged against the State House, 

While all solemnly inside 
Sat the "Continental Congress," 

Truth and reason for their guide. 
O'er a simple scroll 3 debating, 

Which, though simple it might be, 
Yet should shake the cliffs of England 

With the thunders of the free. 

5. Far aloft in that high steeple 

Sat the bellman, old and gray ; 
He was weary of the tyrant 

I. STATE HOUSE : Afterwards known as "Independence Hall." 
2- HAZARD : That which comes suddenly; danger; peril. 

3. SCROLL ! The roll of paper on which Jefferson had written the Declaration 
of Independence. 



INDEPENDENCE BELL. 53 

And his iron-sceptered sway. 
So he sat with one hand ready 

On the clapper of the bell, 
When his eye could catch the signal, 

The long-expected news, to tell. . 

6. See! See! The dense crowd quivers 

Through all its lengthy line, 
As the boy beside the portal 

Hastens forth to give the sign! 
With his little hands uplifted, 

Breezes dallying with his hair, 
Hark! with deep, clear intonation 

Breaks his young voice on the air: 

7. Hushed the people's swelling murmur, 

Last the boy's strong joyous cry! 
"Ring! " he shouts aloud ; "ring! Grandpa! 

Ring! O, ring for Liberty! " 
And straightway, at the signal, 

The old bellman lifts his hand, 
And sends the good news, making 

Iron music through the land. 

8. How they shouted! What rejoicing! 

How the old bell shook the air, 
Till the clang of freedom ruffled 

The calm gliding Delaware! 
How the bonfires and the torches 

Illumined the night's repose, 
And from the flames, like Phoenix, 4 

Fair Liberty arose! 

4. PHOENIX i A bird fabled to exist single for 500 years and to rise again from 
its own ashes, — the emblem of immortality. 



54 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

9. The old bell now is silent, 

And hushed its iron tongue, 
But the spirit it awakened 

Still lives, forever young ; 
And while we greet the sunlight 

On the fourth of each July, 
We'll ne'er forget the bellman, 

Who, betwixt the earth and sky, 
Rung out our Independence, 

Which, please God, shall never die! 

— Anon. 

RECREATIONS. 

Where is "Independence Hall? " 

What was nieant by "Continental Congress? " 

What is meant by the "memories of Lexington and Concord? " 

Quote "Lee's resolution." 

Name the committee on "Declaration of Independence." 

Who wrote the "Declaration of Independence? " 

What effect did General Howe's arrival in New York Harbor 

have upon the delegates ? ' * 
Tell something about Franklin ; the old bellman. 



LESSON XVI. 



THE STORY OF NATHAN HALE. 

1. Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, Connecticut, in the year 
1755. His childhood and youth were spent during a period of excite- 
ment in the colonies. He heard men talk about resisting the Stamp 
Act 1 when he was but ten years old; heard at town meetings the 
oppression of the colonists discussed, so that from his youth up he 
was surrounded by a spirit of patriotism. At the age of fourteen he 

I. STAMP ACT: Passed by British Parliament in 1765. All legal papers were 
to bear a stamp costing from three pence to $30. Every newspaper and 
pamphlet had to be stamped. 



THE STORY OF NATHAN HALE. 55 

entered Yale College, x from which he graduated four years later. He 
was educated for a minister, but the excitement in the colonies caused 
him to join the patriots to resist the unjust laws of England. 

2. At a town meeting, just after the battle of Lexington, he 
exclaimed, "L,et us never lay down our arms until we have achieved 
independence. ' ' This was the first demand made for ' 'independence. ' ' 

3. Soon after entering the army he was appointed Captain in 
Webbs' noted regiment, and achieved fame in several engagements 
about Boston. In September, 1776, immediately after the battle of 
Long Island, Washington wanted to find out how many soldiers 
the British had; how they were placed, and their probable movements. 
He called his officers together to consult as to how to get the informa- 
tion desired. It was a dangerous task, for it would be the work of a 
spy. 2 One officer said, "I am willing to be shot, but not hung," for 
all realized that if he who went should be detected as a spy, that he 
would die on the gallows. 

4. Washington and his officers sat in silence for a moment, when 
Captain Hale, the youngest officer present, pale from recent sickness, 
arose and said; "I will undertake the task. If my country demands 
my service, its claims are imperative." The second week of Septem- 
ber, taking with him his college diploma, to pass as a Connecticut 
school teacher, Hale crossed over to Long Island 

5. He went about the camp, mingling freely with the British sol- 
diers and taking note of all he saw, and with the knowledge of the 
situation that Washington desired, started to cross the ferry to New 
York, but was recognized by a Tory, one of his own relatives, and was 
arrested. It was useless for him to deny that he was a spy, for the 
notes he had taken were found on his person. He was taken before 
Howe, 3 who without even the form of a trial, ordered him to be 
hanged the next morning, which was the Sabbath. 

6. Hale requested a minister's presence but was refused; the offi- 
cers also refused him a Bible to read. At first he was denied writing 
material to address his relatives, but through the influence of a young 

I. YALE COLLEGE was founded in 1700 by ten ministers who brought each a 
few books from his scanty library, to Branford, and as they laid them on 
the table, said — "I give these toward founding a college." Elihu Yale, 
gave large sums of money and the college bears his name. 

2- SPY ! A person sent into an enemy's camp to find out the strength in men 
and guns, etc. One who secretly communicates with the enemy's officers. 

3. GENERAL WILLIAM HOWE: An English general. In 1775 he was ap- 
pointed Commander-in-chief of an army sent to subdue the colonies. 
Bunker Hill was his first battle, in which he lost one-third of his men. 
Defeated Americans at IyOng Island and Branuywine. 



56 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

lieutenant, he was given pen, ink and paper. He was thrust into a 
stone cell for the night to pass the hours till the time tor his execu- 
tion. 

7. He wrote letters to his mother and sisters, and handed them to 
the British marshal to deliver after his death. The marshal read 
them, and angered at the patriotic sentiment they contained, tore 
them into pieces and burned them in the presence of the brave young 
Captain, saying, that "the rebels should never know they had a 
man who could die with such firmness. ' ' Five minutes were given 
him at the gallows to prepare for death. He was brave to the last, 
and at the very moment when the cord was tightening to crush out 
his life, he exclaimed, "I regret that I have but one life to give for 
my country. ' ' 

i. To drum-beat and heart-beat, 

A soldier inarches by : 
There is color in his cheek, 

There is courage in his eye, — 
Yet to drum-beat and heart-beat 

In a moment he must die. 

2. By starlight and moonlight, 

He seeks the Briton's camp : 
He hears the rustling flag, 

And the armed sentry's tramp ; 
And the starlight and moonlight 

His silent wanderings lamp. 

3. With slow tread and still tread 

He scans the tented line, 
And he counts the battery guns 

By the gaunt and shadowy pine ; 
And his slow tread and still tread 

Gives no warning sign. 

4. The dark wave, the plumed wave, 

It meets his eager glance ; 



THE STORY OF NATHAN HALE, 5.7 

And it sparkles 'neath the stars 
L,ike the glimmer of a lance, — 

A dark wave, a plumed wave, 
On an emerald expanse. 

5. A sharp clang, a steel clang, 

And terror in the sound! 
For the sentry, falcon-eyed, 

In the camp a spy hath found : 
With a sharp clang, a steel clang, 

The patriot is bound. 

6. With calm brow, steady brow, 

He listens to his doom : 
In his looks there is no fear, 

Nor a shadow-trace of gloom ; 
But with calm brow and steady brow 

He robes him for the tomb. 

7. In the long night, the still night, 

He kneels upon the sod ; 
And the brutal guards withhold 

E'en the solemn Word of God! 
In the long night, the still night, 

He walks where Christ hath trod. 

8. 'Neath the olue morn, the sunny morn, 

He dies upon the tree ; 
And he mourns that he can lose 

But one life for liberty : 
A.nd in the blue morn, the sunny morn, 

His spirit-wings are free. 



5 8 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

9. From the Fame-leaf and Angel-leaf , 
From monument and urn, 
The sad of earth, the glad of heaven, 

His tragic fate shall learn ; 
And on Fame-leaf and on Angel-leaf 
The name of Hale shall burn. 

— Francis M. Finch. 

RECREATIONS. 

Tell about Nathan Hale's childhood and youth. 

What is meant by the "Stamp Act " ? 

Who made the first demand for "Independence "? 

What information did Washington desire ? 

Tell about Hale among the British. 

What requests were refused Hale ? 

Quote his last words. 



LESSON XVII. 



AMERICAN VICTORY AT TRENTON. 

1. Christmas night 1776 was starless and stormy in America. It 
was during the darkest days of the Revolution. The American cause 
seemed on the verge of ruin, as defeats and desertions were constant. 
Washington knew not what to do, and some of his friends advised 
him to retreat to the mountains of Pennsylvania; but Washington 
determined to strike a daring blow, and if the effort proved unsuc- 
cessful, he would then "flee to the mountains" and make a last stand 
for his country. 

2. At Trenton, on the Delaware, was an army of 1,500 Hessians 

under Colonel Rail. 1 These were German soldiers from the province 

of Hesse-Cassel, who were hired by the English to fight for them. 

Washington, knowing their customs, felt sure they were celebrating 

the day in feasting and would be off their guard. The American 

chief, therefore, ordered 2,400 picked soldiers to prepare to march 

with blankets and three days' provisions. As night drew on, the 

I. R ALL was warned that the Americans would attack them on Christmas Day, 
but he made light of it and spent the time in card-playing, drinking and 
revel rv. 



AMEUICAN VICTORY AT TRENTON. 59 

troops were formed in line on the banks of the Delaware, ready to 
move under cover of the darkness. 

3. Many of the men were ragged and had only broken shoes, and 
could be tracked by the print of their bleeding feet in the snow, and 
yet they did not complain. While the soldiers embarked they had to 
cling to each other, so strong was the wind and so fierce the storm of 
sleet and snow. Washington called on Glover's men to man the 
boats, those brave soldiers who had so successfully transported the 
retreat from Long Island. x It was a fearful night, the swollen Dela- 
ware was full of blocks of ice which threatened to crush the boats. 
Through all the long night hours, Washington's division struggled in 
the current, and it was not until four o'clock in the morning that the 
army gained the Jersey shore. 

4. At daybreak, the columns advanced through a blinding storm 
of snow and sleet toward Trenton, nine miles distant. General Sulli- 
van, before starting on the march, had reported to Washington that 
the muskets were wet and unfit for use. " Use the bayonets, then," 
said the commander-in-chief, "for the town must be taken." The 
Hessians, at Trenton, reveling in wine and "Christmas cheer," feared 
no enemy, for the Delaware was full of floating cakes of ice, and the 
American army was, as they supposed, on the Pennsylvania side. 

5. Colonel Rail was at the house of a trader by the name of 
Hunt, where he had been invited to a Christmas supper. Some one, 
more friendly to the English than to the Americans, learning o 
Washington's approach, wrote the Hessian commander a note, inform- 
ing him of the coming of the American army. Flushed with wine 
and feasting, Rail thrust the note into his pocket unread. Through 
all the hours of the night, the lamps flared upon scenes of feasting 
and revelry. The Hessians became stupefied by their festivities, and 
when Washington's army entered their midst, they were unable to 
make much resistance. Colonel Rail, while trying to rally his men, 
was mortally wounded. 2 Nearly 1,000 Hessians threw down their 
arms and surrendered. It was the first great victory for the Conti- 
nental army, and a Christmas to be remembered forever by all Amer- 
icans. 

To history's page we turn and read 
Of many a grand and noble deed ; 

I. LONG ISLAND: Americans were defeated August 27, 1776. 
2. Before leaving Trenton, Washington visited Rail, and the last hours of the 
Hessian officer were soothed by the sympathy of his generous foe. 



6o FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Of leaders brave who fought and died 
And made their names a nation's pride ; 

And the noblest name to history known 
Is the name of our only Washington ; 

And the bravest deed in his career 
Was crossing the ice-filled Delaware. 

The patriot army had suffered defeat — 

L,ong Island and Harlem 1 had caused its retreat 

From the beautiful Hudson ; they wandered then, 
Far into the peaceful land of Penn, 2 

Where safe from British and Hessians too, 
The leader and men so brave and true, 

Made ready to strike a daring blow 
At Briton's hosts in the vale below. 

Shadows darkened the chieftain's heart 
And bade bright rays of hope depart ; 

Continued defeat on his footsteps hung 
And Liberty's cause in the balance swung, 

And a cloud of gloom hung like a pall 
On Christmas eve o'er patriots all. 

On the Jersey shore, without a fear, 

The Hessians reveled in " Christmas cheer ;" 

They feasted, frolicked without a care, 
Their fancied safety, the Delaware, 

|. Washington's army had been defeated at these two places. Harlem is nine 

miles northeast of New York. 
2. PENN: Pennsylvania. 



AMERICAN VICTORY AT TRENTON. 61 

Which, swelled to a torrent, a barrier lay 
And fortress-like kept foes at bay. 

But while the Hessians feast and dream, 
Entrusted men beyond the stream 

Prepare to take them by surprise ; 
To venture forth where danger lies. 

The night was starless, bitter, cold ; 
The tempest raged, still warriors bold 

''Neath cloak of night, by leaders side 
All yield themselves to surging tide ; 

Embarked midst blocks of ice and snow 
To cross the stream and strike the foe. 

They struggled with the current's power 
Which threatened death each weary hour. 

'Mid cakes of ice their ardor grew 
Despite the chilling winds that blew, 

For the courage that led that fearful night 
Kept Freedom's watchfires burning bright. 

'Twas four o'clock when all the band 
Of soldiers reached the yearned for land ; 

'Twas day-break when the General's word, 
To u march and bayonets charge," was heard. 

Along rough roads through blinding sleet, 
The patriots marched ; and bleeding feet 

Left on the snow so white aud pure 
Those crimson stains that e'er endure , 



62 FLASH-LIGHTS OX AMERICAN HISTORY. 

To these, the years more honor yield 
Than scars received on battle field. 

The Hessians lay in Trenton's wards 
Overcome with wine ; when all the guards 

Ran pell-mell 1 through the streets, and cried : 
"The foe! the foe! they've crossed the tide." 

To form his men Rail tried in vain, 
And ere they rallied, he was slain. 

The time was brief — but one short hour — 
Till hirelings yield to freemen's power ; 

And to the peaceful land of Penn, 
The General brought a thousand men. 

A victory gained ; a brilliant deed ; 
A triumph grand in hour of need. 

— H. Etta Murphy. 

RECREATIONS. 

Who were the Hessians ? 

Locate the American army, Christmas, 1776. 

What was the condition of the army ? 

Where where the Hessians at this time ? 

Relate the story of Washington crossing the Delaware. 

W r here was Colonel Rail on Christmas night ? 

What word did he receive ? 

What was the result of the attack ? 

Ia PELL-MELL: In utter confusion; with disorderly mixture. 



TEE A ME RIG AN FLA tf . 63 

LESSON XVIII. 



THE AMERICAN FLAG. 

1. Not a person now living remembers when the ' 'Stars and 
Stripes" 1 did not wave on every public occasion; but the "Sons of the 
Revolution" have heard their fathers tell how the latter marched into 
Boston with Washington, and saw the American flag when it was first 
unfurled to the breeze. When the Revolutionary war began, the 
armies of the colonies used a variety of flags. One was known as the 
"Pine Tree Flag," and first used in the Massachusetts colony. It had 
a white ground with a "pine tree" in the center. Another flag bore 
the device of a snake in sections, each part bearing the initials of one 
of the new states, and under all, the motto, "Unite or Die." 

2. This was Benjamin Franklin's design, and related to his famous 
joke at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, where he 
said, "We must hang together, geti^men, or we will all hang sepa- 
rately. ' ' Among the various flags was one which bore the significant 
device of a rattlesnake and the motto, "Don't tread on me." 

3. At Cambridge, Washington displayed to the Continental army 
a new flag, composed of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, but 
bearing in the upper corner the cross of St. George, as found on the 
British flag. When the Declaration of Independence came it was 
agreed to have a flag truly American. Congress voted June 17th, 
1777, that "the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, 
alternate red and white, and the union be thirteen stars in a blue 
field." Such is the design of our flag at present, with a star added 
for each new State, and as it floats from numberless spires and spars, 
on land and on sea, we regard it proudly. There is now no nation but 
that has seen the ' 'stars and stripes. ' ' 

4. To millions of people, it is an emblem of popular liberty and 
human rights. It glitters on the proudest frigate; it floats peacefully 
from Maine to Alaska, 2 and from the lakes to the gulf. 3 It waved 
'mid shot and shell on the fields where the Republic 4 was born, and 
our right to a national flag was established. "No star is blotted, no 
stripe erased from its folds. Gallant men guard it and fair women 
bless it," for where ever our flag has gone, it has been a herald of 
freedom, justice and Christianity. 

I. STARS AND STRIPES : The American flag. 

2. ALASKA: Territory lying in the extreme North-western part of North 

America, purchased by the United States from Russia in 1S67 for $7,200,000. 

3. LAKES TO THE GULF : From Great Lakes on the north of United States to 

the Gulf of Mexico on the south. 

4. REPUBLIC : Refers to the United States government. 



64 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

i. When Freedom from her mountain height, 
Unfurled her standard to the air, 
She tore the azure robe of night, 

And set the stars of glory there ; 
She mingled with its gorgeous dyes 
The milky baldric of the skies, 
And striped its pure celestial white 
With streakings of the morning light ; 
Then, from his mansion in the sun, 
She called her eagle bearer down, 
And gave into his mighty hand 
The symbol of her chosen land. 

2. Majestic monarch of the cloud! 

Who rear'st aloft thy regal form, 
To hear the tempest trumpings loud, 
And see the lightning lances driven, 

When strive the warriors of the storm, 
And rolls the thunder-drum of heaven, — 
Child of the sun! to thee 'tis given 

To guard the banner of the free, 
To hover in the sulphur smoke, 
To ward away the battle-stroke, 
And bid its blendings shine afar, 
Like rainbows on the cloud of war, 

The harbinger of victory! 

3. Flag of the brave! thy folds shall fly, 
The sign of hope and triumph high. 
When speaks the signal-trumpet tone, . 
And the long line comes gleaming on,— 
Ere yet the life-blood, warm and wet, 
Has dimm'd the glistening bayonet, 



THE AMERICAN FLAG. 6% 

Each soldier's eye shall brightly turn 
To where thy sky-born glories burn ; 
And, as his springing steps advance, 
Catch war and vengeance from the glance. 
And, when the cannon-mouthings loud 
Heave in wild wreaths the battle-shroud, 
And gory sabres rise and fall, 
L,ike sheets of flame on midnight's pall ; 
Then shall thy meteor-glances glow, 

And cowering foes shall fall beneath 
Each gallant arm that strikes below 

That lovely messenger of death. 

Flag of the seas! on ocean's wave 
Thy stars shall glitter o'er the brave ; 
When Death, careering on the gale, 
Sweeps darkly round the bellied sail, 
And frighted waves rush wildly back 
Before the broadside's reeling rack, 
Each dying wanderer of the sea 
Shall look at once to heaven and thee, 
And smile to see thy splendors fly 
In triumph o'er his closing eye. 

Flag of the free heart's hope and home, 

By angel hands to valor given, 
Thy stars have lit the welkin dome, 

And all thy hues were born in heaven. 
Forever float that standard-sheet ! 

Where breathes the foe but falls before us, 
With Freedom's soil beneath our feet, 

And Freedom's banner streaming o'er us ? 

— J Rodman Drake. 



66 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

RECREATIONS. 
What is meant by "Stars and Stripes? " 
State some of the mottoes on the first American flags. 
What kind of a flag did Washington display at Cambridge ? 
When was our present flag adopted by Congress ? 
Of what is our flag an emblem ? 
What is meant by the "Sons of the Revolution ? " 
Explain, "It floats from numberless spires and spars.* ■ 
Give a quotation about the flag. 
How many stars are now on the blue field ? Why ? 



LESSON XIX, 



PARSON ALLEN'S RIDE. 

i. Some time before the battle of Saratoga, while General Bur- 
goyne was following the retreating Americans down the Hudson, he 
found himself short of provisions. He sent Colonel Baum with a 
strong force of Hessians, 1 Indians and Tories to Bennington to seize 
the stores which had been collected by the Americans. Colonel 
Stark, who had distinguished himself at Bunker Hill and Trenton, 
with a bod}^ of militia 2 from New Hampshire and Vermont, rallied to 
guard their homes. Learning that the British were seizing horses 
and cattle, and were pushing on to capture their stores, Colonel 
Stark collected as quickly as possible, the militia, that he might be 
able to protect the people. These men, like all men in a new coun- 
try, w T ere accustomed to fire-arms from childhood, and, although not 
much acquainted with military tactics, were willing to meet the Brit- 
ish forces. 

2. Among those who had rallied at Colonel Stark's call, was Par- 
son Allen and a large number of his church members. The Parson 
came in his primitive chaise. 3 He was burning to display his patri- 
otic zeal, and before daybreak, while the clouds were still pouring, he 
impatiently sought Stark and said, "Now General, the Berkshire peo- 
ple have been called out several times before without having a chance 
to fight, and if you do not give it to them this time they will never 
turn out again. ' ' 

I. HESSIANS: Germans from the province of Hesse-Cassel hired to fight by 
the British. 

2. MILITIA: A body of citizens engaged in actual service only in emergencies. 

3. CHAISE: a two-wheeled, one-horse carriage. 



PARSON ALLEN'S RIDE. 67 

3. "Well," answered Stark, "do you wish to march now while it 
is dark and raining?" "Not just this moment," was the reply. 
"Then just wait, Parson," said Stark, "till the Lord gives us sun- 
shine, and if I don't give you fighting enough, I'll never ask you to 
come out again. ' ' 

4. The morning dawned bright and clear. Colonel Stark, with 
500 chosen men, met the British about five miles from Bennington. 
Both sides prepared for battle. Colonel Baum seeing Stark's men in 
their shirt sleeves, with nothing but muskets, collecting behind his 
camp, thought they were country people and took but little notice of 
them. He soon learned, however, that these were the men whom he 
had to fight, even if they did not look like soldiers. At 3 o'clock, 
when all was ready, Colonel Stark shouted, ' 'Now my men, there are 
the Red-coats, we beat them to-day or Molly Stark is a widow." His 
men, "like war horses eager for the fray," dashed forward, sweeping 
the enemy before them. 

5. Without bayonet or cannon, or even a thought of discipline, 
but with confidence in their leader, they closed in upon the Hessians 
on all sides, and for two hours the battle raged. The Indians fled at 
the first fire of the patriots, but the Hessians fought with desperate 
valor, and darkness alone saved them from total destruction. When 
the patriots had about gained a victory, reinforcements arrived from 
Burgoyne's army. The militia had already begun to retreat, when 
Colonel Seth Warner arrived with the "Green Mountain Boys." 
Fiercer than ever the battle raged, but when the Hessians saw the sun 
sinking in the west, they retreated, leaving cannon, their wounded 
and stores for the patriots. 

6. The patriotism which led the Americans at this time, is illus- 
trated in the case of an old man who had five sons in the battle. A 
neighbor who had just come from the field, told the old father that 
one of his sons had been unfortunate. "Has he proved a coward or 
traitor?" anxiously asked the father. "Worse than that" was the 
answer, "He has fallen, but while fighting bravely." "Then," said 
the father, "I am satisfied." 

7. This true patriot afterwards declared that it was the happiest 
day of his life to know that his five sons fought nobly, though one 
had fallen in the conflict. This victory prepared the way for the 
downfall of Burgoyne at Saratoga. 

I. The u Catamount Tavern" is lively to-night, 

The boys of Vermont and New Hampshire are 
here, 



6S FLASII-LI^HTS ON AMERICAN" HISTORY. 

Assembled and grouped in the lingering light, 
To greet Parson Allen with shout and with cheer. 

2. Over mountain and valley, from Pittsfield green, 

Through the driving rain of that August day, 
The "Flock" marched on with martial mien, 
And the Parson rode in his u one-horse shay." 

3. u Three cheers for old Berkshire! " the General 

said, 
As the boys of New England drew up face to face, 
u Baum bids us a breakfast to-morrow to spread, 
And the Parson is here to say us the 'grace'. " 

4. u The lads who are with me have come here to fight, 

And we know of no grace," was the Parson's 
reply, 
u Save the name of Jehovah, our country and right, 
Which your own Ethan Allen pronounced at 
Fort Ti." 1 

5. "To-morrow," said Stark, "there'll be fighting to do, 

If you think you can wait for the morning light, 
And, Parson, I'll conquer the British with you, 
Or Molly Stark sleeps a widow at night." 

6. What the Parson dreamed in that Bennington camp, 

Neither Yankee nor Prophet would dare to guess ; 
A vision, perhaps, of the King David stamp, 

With a mixture of Cromwell and good Queen 
Bess. 2 

I. FORTTl ! Has reference to Fort Ticonderoga taken by Ethan Allen, May 10, 

1775. 
2. QUEEN BESS; Queen Elizabeth of England. 



PARSON ALLEN'S RIDE, 69 

7. But we know the result of that glorious day, 

And the victory won ere the night came down ; 
How Warner charged in the bitter fray, 

With Rossiter, Hobart, and old John Brown: 

8. And how in the lull of the three hour's fight, 

The Parson harangued the Tory line, 
As he stood on a stump, with his musket bright, 
And sprinkled his texts with the powder fine:— 

9. The sword of the L,ord is our battle cry, — 

A refuge sure in the hour of need, 
And freedom and faith can never die, 
Is article first of the Puritan creed. 

10. "Perhaps the 'occasion' was rather rash," 

He remarked to his comrades after the rout, 
"For behind a bush I saw a flash, 
But I fired that way and put it out." 

11. And many the sayings, eccentric and queer, 

Repeated and sung through the whole country 
side, 
And quoted in Berkshire for many a year, 
Of the Pittsfield march and the Parson's ride. 

12. All honor to Stark and his resolute men, 

To the Green Mountain Boys all honor and praise, 
While with shout and with cheer we welcome attain, 
The Parson who came in his one-horse chaise. 

— Wallace Bruce. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate Bennington; Saratoga; Berkshire. 
Who was Colouel Baum? Colonel Stark? 



7 o FLASH-L I GETS OX AMERICAN HISTOR 7. 

Tell the story of Parson Allen. 
How were Stark's men dressed? 
What did Colonel Stark say to his men ? 
Who was Colonel Seth Warner ? 
Who were the "Green Mountain Boys" ? 
What is patriotism ? 

Tell the story of the patriot who had five sons in the bat- 
tle of Bennington. 
Who wrote "Parson Allen's Ride" ? 



LESSON XX. 



ANDRE'S LAST REQUEST. 

i. The summer of 1780 was marked by a strange and disgraceful 
event in American history. Benedict Arnold, who had shown much 
brave^ at Quebec, Saratoga and elsewhere, had been given com- 
mand at Philadelphia, but while there married the daughter of a 
Torv, lived in great style and acted dishonestly with the government's 
money. By order of Congress, he was reprimanded by Washington. 
This punishment excited in Arnold's soul a fierce thirst for revenge, 
and he did not rest until he had devised a plan for betraying his 
country. 

2. Under the assumed name of "Gustavus," he entered into a cor- 
respondence with a British officer under the assumed name of ' ' John 
Anderson. ' ' For more than a year this correspondence was carried 
on. Arnold, still suffering from his wound received at Saratoga, 
asked to be placed in command at West Point, — the most important 
fort on the Hudson. Washington, never doubting his loyalty, had 
him appointed to the place. This was Arnold's opportunity, and he 
immediately wrote to General Clinton to send an English officer to 
hold a secret interview, and agree upon terms for surrendering West 
Point to the British. 

3. In September, 1780, Major Andre (an-dra), a brilliant young 
officer in Clinton's army ; a man of fine character and with elegant 
accomplishments, was sent to meet Arnold and arrange for the sur- 
render of the fort. He went up the Hudson in the vessel Vulture to 
a place near Haverstraw. Leaving his vessel, he entered the Ameri- 
can lines, and shortly after midnight met Arnold in a dense thicket 



ANDRE'S LAST REQUEST. 71 

at the foot of Clove Mountain. There in the gloom of the night 
Andre first heard Arnold's voice. Thus hidden from human eyes by 
the darkness among the trees, they plotted the ruin of the patriot 
cause. Ere the plans were completed, it began to grow light over 
the wooded mountains, and they repaired to a house near by. 

4. Arnold gave the British officer papers containing a description 
of West Point; its defenses, cannon, stores and the best mode of at- 
tack. It was agreed that the British fleet should ascend the Hudson, 
and that the garrison and the fortress should be given up without a 
struggle. 

5. While the two men were talking, the Vulture was fired upon 
from Teller's Point and it had dropped down the river, so that Andre 
was forced to cross the river and go by horse to New York. Arnold 
gave him a pass and provided him with a farmer's suit of clothes. 1 
He had passed the American lines and had reached Tarry town , be- 
fore night he would be in camp and the plan of surrender be in Clin- 
ton's hands — but suddenly in a lonely spot in the road, where a small 
stream crossed and ran into a woody dell, three men 2 appeared and 
called "halt." 

6. Had Andre shown Arnold's pass the men would have allowed 
him to go on, but seeing that one of the men wore a British uniform, 
which had been given him when a prisoner among the English, 
Andre w r as led to think he was a friend and asked, "Where do you 
belong?" "Down below," answered one. Andre took this to mean 
New York, and being thrown off his guard said, "I am from below 
also; I am a British officer on important business, do not detain me." 
"Then you are our prisoner," answered the men. 

7. Andre then produced the pass, but it was too late, he had 
already confessed that he was a British officer. He offered them his 
watch, his purse, or to deliver to them the day following, a cargo of 
English dry goods if they would allow him to go on. They refused 
to release him even for 10,000 guineas. They obliged him to remove 
his saddle-bags and coat, to be searched, — but finding nothing to war- 
rant suspicion, they were about to let him go when Paulding said, 
"Boys, I am not satisfied ; his boots must come off." Andre said 

I. The pass read as follows: "Permit Mr. John Anderson to pass the guards to 
the White Plains, or below, if he chooses, he being on public business by 
my direction. B. Arnold, M. General." 

2. These men were John Paulding, Isaac Van Wart, and David Williams. Con- 
gress afterward voted them each a pension of $200 a year, and a medal, on 
one side of which was "Fidelity," and on the other, "The Iyove of Country 
Conquers." 



72 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

they were hard to get on and off and asked that he might not be sub- 
jected to the inconvenience. His boots were drawn, however, and as 
they came off the men heard the rustle of paper in his stockings. 
These were removed also, and there were found drawings of the fort 
and an engineer's report of its strength, all in Arnold's writing. 

S. Paulding exclaimed, "He is a spy." The men took him to 
North Castle and delivered him to Colonel Jamison. He was tried 
by a court-martial, among whom were Lafayette, Greene, Steuben, 
Stark and Stirling. Andre argued his own case, giving a frank and 
truthful account of his part in the unhappy transaction, but denying 
that he was a spy, since he entered the American lines on the invita- 
tion of an American general. The court, however, pronounced him a 
spy and sentenced him to death. 

9. Andre wrote a letter to Washington, requesting that he might 
be spared the rope and die a soldier's death. Washington laid the 
matter before the court-martial, which replied by saying: — "Have you 
forgotten how the British hanged our brave Nathan Hale four years 
ago?" Clinton tried to effect Andre's release. Washington would 
gladly have pardoned him, had he not thought it necessary to comply 
with the usages of war. He would not agree to exchange him for any 
officer except Arnold. Clinton thought he could not honorably 
break his faith with the traitor and declined. 

10. Andre showed no fear of death, and when he saw the gallows 
he exclaimed, "How hard is my fate," and turning to an officer, said, 
"I pray you to bear witness that I meet my fate like a brave man." 
So Andre was hanged instead of the infamous Arnold, and Americans 
feeling that he was the victim of a cruel man, have been generous to 
his memory. He was buried near Tappan, New Jersey, but in 1821, 
forty years afterward, his remains were removed to England and laid 
in Westminster Abbey. 

i. "It is not the fear of death 

That damps my brow ; 
It is not for another breath 

I ask thee now ; 
I can die with a lip unstirred, 

And a quiet heart — 
Let but this prayer be heard 

Ere I depart. 



ANDRE'S LAST REQUEST. 73 

2. "I can give up my mother's look — 

My sister's kiss ; 
I can think of love — yet brook 

A death like this ! 
I can give the young fame 

I burned to win ; 
All — but the spotless name 

I glory in. 

3. "Thine is the power to give, 

Thine to deny, 
Joy for the hour to live, 

Calmness to die. 
By all the brave should cherish, 

By my dying breath. 
I ask that I may perish 

By a soldier's death." 

— Willis. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate Quebec; Saratoga; Philadelphia; West Point. 

For what was Benedict Arnold reprimanded ? 

Tell the story of Major Andre. 

Name the three men who captured Andre. 

Where was Andre executed ? Where buried ? 



LESSON XXL 



SONG OF MARION'S MEN. 

1. The history of the adventures and daring exploits of the little 
bands of men under Marion, Sumter, Pickens and Henry Lee in the 
South, is perhaps the most romantic that the Revolutionary war fur- 
nishes. . These leaders chose for their companions, young men who 
were bold horsemen, who delighted in danger, and who were willing 



74 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

to undergo any privation for the sake of ridding the country from the 
depredations of the British. 

2. These men soon became imbued with the spirit of their leaders. 
They took refuge in swamps in the cane-break, or in the deep 
recesses of the forest where the enemy would not dare follow. From 
these secluded spots the patriots would sally out to capture prisoners, 
intercept convoys, or harass the enemy, and thus kept the British 
and Tories in a constant state of alarm. The most notable of these 
leaders was General Francis Marion, a descendent of the Huguenots, 1 
and who in early life had fought the Cherokees. 2 He knew the 
swamps of South Carolina; he possessed the Indian faculty for get- 
ting directions from the trees, the sun, the stars and other natural 
guides, that are used by those persons who live in forests. 

3. His band of men was at first composed of twenty but increased 
to about fifty. They made some of their weapons out of old scythes 
and saws, and on account of their wretched appearance, were called 
the ' 'ragged regiment. ' ' Marion was called the ' 'Swamp Fox, ' ' and 
his name always carried terror to the British. He had his own way of 
carrying on warfare, and no one knew where he would next appear, 
for he was like a "meteor in the night." ^ 

4. From Snow Island, 3 Marion, on his famous horse, Ball, which 
he had taken from a loyalist 4 by that name, would, with his men, 
dart into a British camp with the swiftness of an eagle, filling the 
enemy with terror, then hurry away with the booty and prisoners. 
During the entire time of the Revolution, these brave patriots fought 
without pay, and spent the best years of their lives for their country. 
Marion's epitaph declares with truth that "he lived without fear and 
died without reproach . " 

(By permission of D. Appleton & Co.) 

i. Our band is few but true and tried 

Our leader frank and bold, 
The British soldier trembles 

When Marion's name is told. 
Our fortress is the good greenwood, 

I. HUGUENOTS: a name given to the Protestants in France. Led on by John 
Ribaut, a colony of them settled in South Carolina in 1562. 

2, CHEROKEES: A tribe of Indians in the southern part of the United States. 

3. SNOW ISLAND: An inaccessible spot between the Santee and Pedee riv- 

ers. 
4 # LOYALIST : Those who adhered to the Sovereign of England. 



SONG OF MARION'S MEN 75 

Our tent the cypress tree, 
We know the forest round us 

As seamen know the sea; 
We know its walls of thorny vines, 

Its glades of reedy grass, 
Its safe and silent islands 

Within the dark morass. 

Woe to the English soldiery 

That little dread us near ; 
On them shall light at mid-night 

A strange and sudden fear : 
When, waking to their tents on fire, 

They grasp their arms in vain, 
And they who stand to face us 

Are beat to earth again ; 
And they who fly in terror deem 

A mighty host behind, 
And hear the tramp of thousands 

Upon the hollow wind. 

Then sweet the hour that brings release, 

From danger and from toil ; 
To talk the battle over, 

And share the battles spoil. 
The woodland rings with laugh and shout, 

As if a hunt were up, 
And woodland flowers w 7 ere gathered 

To crown the soldier's cup, 
With merry songs we mock the wind 

That in the pine-top grieves, 
And slumber long and sweetly 

On beds of oaken leaves. 



76 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

4. Well knows the fair and friendly moon 

The band that Marion leads — 
The glitter of their rifles, 

The scampering of their steeds. 
'Tis life to guide the fiery barb 1 

Across the moonlight plain ; 
'Tis life to feel the night-wind 

That lifts the tossing mane. 
A moment in the British camp — 

A moment — and away. 
Back to the pathless forest 

Before the peep of day. 

5. Grave men there are by broad Santee 2 

Grave men with hoary hairs ; 
Their hearts are all with Marion, 

For Marion are their prayers. 
And lovely ladies greet our band 

With kindest welcoming, 
With smiles like those of Summer, 

And tears like those of Spring, 
For them we wear these trusty arms 

And lay them down no more, 
'Till we have driven the Briton 

Forever, from our shore. 

— William Cullen Bryant. 

RECREATIONS. 

What patriots are named in the lesson ? 

What is a ' 'patriot' ' ? A ' 'Tory' ' ? A ' 'Loyalist' ' ? 

Who were the Huguenots ? 

Who was called "Swamp Fox" ? 

Who commanded the "ragged regiment" ? 

What is Marion's epitaph? 
I. BARB: A horse remarkable for spirit and speed. 
2 SANTEE : A river of South Carolina. 







MARION'S DINNER, 



MARION'S DINNER, 77 

LESSON XXII. 



MARION'S DINNER. 

1. While Marion and his little band of men were encamped on 
Snow Island 1 in 1780, a young British officer, sent to negotiate an 
exchange of prisoners, was brought before Marion, blindfolded and 
carrying a flag of truce. 2 This officer, like a great many others at 
that time, who had heard of General Marion and many of his brave 
acts, expected to find some giant, larger even than Washington or 
Cornwallis. But to his surprise, when the bandage was removed from 
his eyes, he saw a swarthy little man, wearing a homespun suit, and 
who possessed neither hat nor cloak. The British officer presented a 
letter to Marion, who read it and made the exchange of prisoners 
desired. The officer was about to retire, when General Marion said 
politely, "It is now about our time for dinner, and I hope, sir, you 
will give us the pleasure of your company to dinner. ' ' 

• 2. The British officer had not seen any motion toward preparing 
the repast, and was surprised to hear the mention, but already 
charmed with Marion's simple manners and geniality, he gladly 
accepted the invitation of his host. The repast which was served on 
a pine log as a table, consisted entirely of roasted sweet potatoes 
brought to them on pieces of bark. "I fear, sir," said Marion, "that 
our dinner will not prove as palatable to you as I would wish, but it is 
the best we have." 

3. The officer was amazed at such meager diet; he took one of the 
potatoes and tried to eat it, but could not. He was too much affected 
by this example of unselfish patriotism. Turning to Marion, he said, 
4 'Surely, General, this cannot be your ordinary fare." "It is, in- 
deed, ' ' said Marion, ' 'but on this occasion, having the honor of your 
company, we fare better than usual. ' ' ' 'You must get good pay to 
make up for such living," said the British officer. "Not a cent," 
said Marion, "neither myself nor any of my men have ever received 
any pay for our services. ' ' ' 'What are you fighting for ? ' ' inquired 
the officer eagerly. "I am in love with the cause of liberty, " said 
Marion, ' 'and I had rather fight for such a cause and for my country 
and eat roots and leaves, than to stand idly by and not resist the 

I. SNOW ISLAND! An inaccessible spot in the centre of swainps and tan- 
gled forests, between the Pedee and Santee rivers. 
2. FLAG OF TRUCE '. A white flag displayed to an eneiny when making some 
communication not hostile. 



7 S FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

oppressors of my native land. This is the soil that gave me birth, 
and I live with the hope that I will not dishonor it, and it gladdens 
my heart to think that I am righting for the freedom and blessings of 
future generations. ' ' 

4. This devotion to liberty so affected the young officer, that when 
he returned to Charleston he said to his comrades, "I have seen an 
American general and his officers, almost without clothes, fighting 
without pay, living on roots, drinking nothing but water, all for the 
cause of liberty. We have no chance fighting such men. America 
will never be conquered while such men are fighting us. ' ' 

5. The British officer declared that "he would not fight against 
men who endured such hardships, and showed such devotion to their 
cause, and he never rested until he had resigned his commission and 
retired from the British service. Marion's life taught that "another 
virtue beside courage was often found in soldiers and patriots" — that 
of endurance. It has been said of Marion, "that his simplicity of 
conduct, and the cheerfulness with which he endured privations was 
beyond praise. ' ' 

i. They sat on the trunk of a fallen pine, 

And their plate was a piece of bark, 
And the sweet potatoes were superfine, 

Though bearing the embers' mark ; 
But Tom, with the sleeve of his cotton shirt, 

The embers had brushed away, 
And then to the brook, with a step alert, 

He hied on that gala day. 

2. The British officer tried to eat, 

But his nerves were out of tune, 
And ill at ease on his novel seat, 

While absent both knife and spoon, 
Said he, you give me but Lenten fare, l 

Is the table thus always slim ? 
Perhaps with a Briton you will not share 

The cup with a flowing brim! 

I. LENTEN FARE : T ne plain, spare food eaten during Lent. A fast of 4c 
days from Ash Wednesday to Easter. 



MARION'S DINNER. 79 

3. Then Marion put his potato down 

On the homely plate of bark — 
He had to smile, for he could not frown, 

While gay as the morning lark : — 
'Tis a royal feast I provide to-day } 

Upon roots we rebels dine, 
And in Freedom's service we draw no pay, 

Is that code of ethics thine ? 

4. Then with flashing eye and with heaving breast, 

He looked to the azure sky, 
And, said he, with a firm, undaunted crest, 

Our trust is in God on high! 
The hard, hard ground is a downy bed, 

And hunger its fang foregoes, 
And noble and firm is the soldier's tread, 

In the face of his country's foes. 

5. The officer gazed on that princely brow, 

, Where valor and genius shone, 
And upon that fallen pine, his vow 

Went up to his Maker's throne : 
I will draw no sword against men like these, 

It would drop from a nerveless hand, 
And the very blood in my heart would freeze, 

If I faced such a Spartan band. 1 

6. From Marion's camp, with a saddened mien, 

He hastened with awe away, 
The sons of Anak 2 his eyes had seen, 

!. SPARTAN BAND : Has reference to soldiers like those of ancient Sparta 

who were noted for their bravery. 
2. SONS OF ANAK: Giants whom the children of Israel found in Canaan 



8o FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

And a giant race were they. 
No more on the tented field was he, 

And rich was the truth he learned, 
That men who could starve for liberty 

Can neither be crushed nor spurned. 

— Edward C. Jones. 

RECREATIONS. 

Who was General Marion ? Cornwallis ? 

Who came to see Marion about some prisoners ? 

What astonished the officer? 

For what purpose did Marion say he was fighting ? 

What effect did Marion's answer have on the British ? 

What does the story of Marion's life teach us ? 



LESSON XXIII 



EMILY GEIGER. 

i. During the Revolution, many acts of bravery and patriotism are 
recorded of women. They were not one step behind the men in patri- 
otic spirit. 

2. Mary Pitcher,* who carried water for the soldiers at the battle 
of Monmouth, seeing her husband fall, and hearing the commander 
order the piece to be removed from the field, instantly dropped the 
pail, hastened to the cannon, seized the rammer, and with great skill 
and courage, performed her husband's duties with equal bravery. 

3. When the British took charge of Mrs. Mott's house, she sug- 
gested to General Lee the plan of setting her own house on fire, and 
brought with her own hands the bow and arrows with which fire 
brands were shot on to the wooden roof. Then she stood and watched 
the flames consume her mansion, and the British, in order to save 

S their lives, surrendered. 

4. A patriotic woman of the South, w r ho had seven sons in the war, 

when told by Cornwallis that it would be better to join the British 

cause, said: "Sooner than see one of my boys turn against his own 

country, I would go with my baby in my arms and enlist under 

*The day following the battle she received a sergeant's commission with half 
pay through life. The soldiers gave her the nick-name — "Captain Molly.' 



EMILY GEIGEE. Si 

Marion's banner, and show my sons how to fight, and if need be, die 
for the freedom of this land of ours. ' ' 

5. Nancy Hart, 1 an Amazon 2 in stature, whose courage, patriot- 
ism, wit and temper were in proportion to her height, which was six 
feet, while feeding six Tories who had ordered their supper, seized one 
of their guns, saying she would ''blow the brains out of the first 
man that offered to rise," and turning to her son, said, "Go tell the 
Whigs I have captured six base traitors." 

6. General Tarleton, a British officer, who was wounded in a per- 
sonal combat by Colonel William Washington, 3 used to seize every 
opportunity to sneer at Colonel Washington whenever Mrs. Jones, a 
patriotic woman, and great admirer of Washington, was present. He 
remarked once to a large company of people, that he had heard that 
"Colonel Washington was so ignorant he could not write his name." 
"Oh! Colonel," said Mrs. Jones, who was present, "perhaps he can- 
not, but he can make his mark as you yourself can testify, ' ' and so 
saying, she pointed to Tarleton' s wounded arm. 

7. Soon after the battle of Ninety-Six, it became important for Gen- 
eral Greene to communicate with General Sumter, but as the sur- 
rounding country was filled with British and Tories, no one offered to 
undertake the dangerous mission. In this emergency, a girl of eigh- 
teen years, Emily Geiger, volunteered to make the attempt, and 
received from Greene a letter and a verbal message which he wished 
conveyed. Mounting a swift horse, Kmily performed a part of the 
distance in safety, but was finally stopped by two Tories, who sus- 
pected that she might be engaged in some secret service. 

8. Left alone for a moment, the heroic girl swallowed the note 
which Greene had given her. She was searched, and there being 
nothing found which looked suspicious, she was allowed to proceed 
on her journey. Sumter's camp was reached, the verbal message 
delivered, and with such effect that Greene's army was soon strong 
enough to defeat General Rawdon. 

i. 'Twas in the days of the Revolution, — 
Dark days were they and drear, — 

I. NANCY H ART: A county in Georgia bears her family name and thus pet 

petuates her fame. 
2. AMAZON ! A war-like or masculine woman, resembling the fabulous race ot 
female warriors on the Black Sea. 

3. Colonel William Augustine Washington proved his bravery in ( 

several battles — he wounded Tarleton in a personal combat. He was 
taken prisoner at Eutaw Springs and held by the British until the end ot 
the Revolution. 



82 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

And by Carolina firesides 

The women sat in fear ; 
For the men were away at the fighting, 

And sad was the news that came, 
That the battle was lost ; and the death-list 

Held many a loved one's name. 

2. When as heart-sore they sat round the camp-fires, 

"What, ho! Who'll volunteer 
To carry a message to Sumter ? " 

A voice rang loud and clear. 
There was a sudden silence, 

But not a man replied ; 
They knew too well of the peril 

Of one who dared that ride. 

3. Outspoke then Emily Geiger, 

With a rich flush on her cheek, — 
"Give me the message to be sent ; 

I am the one you seek. 
For I am a Southern woman ; 

And I'd rather do and dare 
Than sit by a lonely fireside, 

My heart gnawed through with care." 

4. They gave her the precious missive ; 

And on her own good steed 
She rode away, 'mid the cheers of the men. 

Upon her daring deed. 
And away through the lonely forests. 

Steadily galloping on, 
She saw the sun sink low in the sky. 

And in the west go down. 



EMILY QEIOEE. S3 

5. "HaH!~or I fire! " On a sudden 

A rifle clicked close by. 
"Let you pass ? Not we, till we know you are 

No messenger nor spy." 
"She's a Whig, — from her face, — I will wager, " 

Swore the officer of the day. 
"To the guard-house, and send for a woman 

To search her without delay." 

6. No time did she lose in bewailing ; 

As the bolt creaked in the lock, 
She quickly drew the precious note 

That was hidden in her frock. 
And she read it through with hurried care 

Then ate it piece by piece, 
And calmly sat her down to wait 

Till time should bring release. 

7. They brought her out in a little. 

And set her on her steed, 
With many a rude apology, 

For this discourteous deed. 
On, on, once more through the forest black 

The good horse panting strains, 
Till the sentry's challenge: "Who comes there?" 

Tells that the end she gains. 

8. Ere an hour, in the camp of Sumter 

There was hurrying to and fro. 
"Saddle and mount, saddle and mount," 

The bugles shrilly blow. 
"Forward trot! " and the long ranKS wheel, 

And into the darkness glide : 



8 4 FLASH-LIGHTS OJST AMEBIC AN HIS TOBY. 

Long shall the British rue that march 
And Emily Geiger's ride. 

— Anon, 

RECREATIONS. 

Tell the story of Mary Pitcher. Locate Monmouth. 

Tell the story of Mrs. Mott. Tell something of Marion, Lee, 
Sumter, Greene. 

Tell the story of Nancy Hart. What is meant by Whigs ? Ex- 
plain ' 'An Amazon in stature. ' ' 

Tell something of Colonel Washington and General Tarleton. 

Tell the story of Emily Geiger. 



LESSON XXIV. 



WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL TO HIS ARMY. 

i. After the surrender of Cornwallis and the British army at York- 
town, Washington established his headquarters at Newburg, on the 
Hudson, and the American armies were encamped in the neighboring 
fields. Here they remained eighteen months, or until peace was 
finally established between the British and Americans. The British 
left New York, November 25th, 1783, and embarked for England. 
General Washington and his aides entered the city from the north 
and took posession. The British flag had been left flying by the 
retreating army. It was nailed to the flag staff of Fort George, and 
the steps leading to it removed. 

2. At first sight of it, a Yankee 1 sailor determined to replace it by 
the American flag. He was soon ascending the staff, nailing on cleat 
after cleat as he went up, until he reached the top, and amid the 
shouts of the people, and the roar of artillery, the flag of Britain gave 
place to the stars and stripes of the new born nation. Not long after 
arriving at New York, Washington assembled his principal officers at 
his headquarters to receive his parting words. His emotions were too 
strong to be concealed. His words were few but affectionate, and 
expressed his deep feeling: "With a heart full of love and gratitude, 
I now take leave of you. I most devoutly wish that your latter days 

I- YANKEE: A citizen of. New England or of the Northern states; applied by 
foreigners to all inhabitants of United States. 







WASHINGTON TAKING LEAVE OF HIS OFFICERS, 



WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL TO HIS ARMY. 85 

may be as prosperous and happy as your former ones have been glori- 
ous and honorable. I cannot come to each of you to take my leave, 
but shall be obliged to you if. each will come and take me by the 
hand." 

3. General Knox, 1 being nearest, turned to his adored chief, but 
Washington was so overcome by his feelings that he could only hold 
his friend's hand without uttering a word. He embraced and kissed 
General Knox, as well as the others, as they approached to bid him 
adieu. Not a word was spoken to break the dignified silence, but 
flowing tears showed the tenderness of the occasion, and testified to 
feelings no language can describe. The trying scene once over, 
Washington crossed the White Hall ferry to the Jersey shore and pro- 
ceeded to Annapolis, where Congress was in session. 

4. On the 23d of December, in the presence of a lar company, he 
surrendered his commission, and like Cincinnatus, 2 Washington laid 
down the cares of his state and returned to his farm at Mount Ver- 
non, on the banks of the Potomac, followed by the thanksgiving of a 
grateful people. 

i. The Chieftain gazed with moistened eves upon the 

veteran band, 
Who with him braved the battle's storm for God and 

native land ; 
At last the parting hour had come — from prairie, 

mount and sea, 
The glad shout burst from countless hearts : "Our 

land — our land is free! " 

2. Then up from every altar rose a hymn of praise to 
God, 
Who nerved the patriot hearts and arm to free their 
native sod ; 

I. GENERAL KNOX: The most noted artillerist of the Revolution. His brav- 
ery was first shown at the battle of Bunker Hill. His heavy cannona- 
ding gained the battle of Yorktown. 
2. ClNCiNNATUS: A celebrated Roman who was called from the plow to rule 
the nation. After defeating an army that invaded Rome, he resigned his 
office and returned to his little farm. 



86 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMEB1CAN HISTORY. 

The stormy strife of grief and gloom, of blood and 

death was o'er, 
The heroes who survived its wrath might seek their 

homes once more. 

3. With bared heads bowed, and swelling hearts, they 

gathered round their Chief; 
The parting day to them was one of mingled joy and 

grief; 
They thought of all his love and care, his patience 

sorely tried, 
Of how he shared their wants ana woes, and with 

them death defied. 

4. They looked back to that fearful night wnen 'mid 

the storm he stood, 
Beside the icy Delaware, to guide them o'er the 

flood- 
Back to red fields where, thick as leaves upon an 

Autumn day, 
The tawny savage warriors and British foemen lay. 

5. They thought of many a cheerless camp where lay 

the sick and dead, 

Where oft that stately form was bent o'er many a suf- 
ferer's bed ; 

Well had he won the deathless love of all that patriot 
band — 

Their friend ana guide, their nation's hope, the 
savior of their land. 

6. He, too, saw all they had endured to break their 

country's chains, 



WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL TO HIS ARMY. 87 

Their naked footprints stamped in blood on Jersey's 

frozen plains. 
The gloomy huts at Valley Forge, 1 where winter's 

icy breath 
Froze many a brave heart's crimson flow, chained 

many an arm in death. 

7. And, looking on their war-thinnea ranks, he sighed 

for those who fell ; 
It stirred the depths of his great heart to say the 

word "Farewell ; " 
He saw strong men who, facing death, had never 

thought of fear, 
Dash from their scarred ana sun- or owned cheeks the 

quickly gushing tear. 

S. He stood in the receding boat, nis noble brow laid 
bare, 
And the wild fingers ot tne breeze tossing his silv'ry 

air, 
While to his trusty .ollowers, the sternly tried and 

true, 
Whose sad eyes watcnea him from the shore, he 
waved a last adieu. 

9. Earth shows no laureled conqueror so truly great as he 
Who laid the sword and power aside when once his 

land was free, 
Who calmly sought his quiet home when Freedom's 

fight was won, 
While with one voice the Nation cried : u God bless 

our Washington! " 

— Anon. - 
\. VALLEY FORGE : Where the American army spent the winter of 1778. 



88 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate York town, Newburg, Annapolis. 

When did the British army leave America ? 

Who removed the British flag ? 

Tell the story of Washington bidding farewell to his offi- 
cers. 

When and where did Washington resign his commission as 
commander-in-chief ? 



LESSON XXV. 



THE HOME OF THE DUELIST. 

i. A century ago, it was a common practice for men to settle their 
disputes and quarrels by duels. x In America the weapons in general 
use were pistols, and these of the most deadly character. The duel- 
ists stood so many paces or feet apart, and at a given signal would fire 
at each other. Many able men, prominently connected with our gov- 
ernment have been killed or wounded in duels. 

2. During the summer of 1804, the country was startlea by the 
news that Alexander Hamilton had been killed in a duel by Aaron 
Burr, Vice President of the United States. Aaron Burr was a candi- 
date for Governor of New York. He was defeated through the influ- 
ence of Alexander Hamilton, who, with others, believed Burr (whose 
name had many vices clustering around it) a dangerous man and unfit 
to be trusted with power. 

3. In a fit of anger, Burr cnanenged Hamilton to fight a duel. 
The latter, knowing he would be called a coward if he did not fight, 
accepted the challenge. He arose at daybreak, July nth, wrote a 
tender letter to his wife, stole softly out of his beautiful home, walked 
down to the river, and with two friends was rowed across to Wee- 
hawken, 2 where his eldest son had shortly before been killed in a duel. 

4. Burr, who had been in constant practice with his pistols, was 
determined to put an end to the man who had thwarted him in his 
ambitions. At the signal, 3 Burr fired with careful aim. ' 'Hamilton' 

I. DUEL ! An arranged fight between two persons to decide some difference. 

2. WEEHAWKEN : In New Jersey, opposite New York city. 

3. SIGNAL : A sign agreed upon to give notice that the parties are ready; drop- 

ping a handkerchief ; firing a pistol; counting "one, two, three," etc., are 
some of the signals used. 



THE HOME OF TEE DVELiST. S 9 

sprang upon his toes, reeled a little, discharged his pistol in the air 
and fell to the ground. ' ' Thus ended, by a barbarous custom, the 
most brilliant life in the nation, for all felt that among men of great- 
ness, " Whoever was second, Hamilton must be first." 

i. The mother sat beside her fire, 

Well trimmed it was and bright, 
While loudly moan'd the forest-pines 

Amid that wintry night. 
She heard them not, those wind-swept pines, 

For o'er a scroll she hung, 
That bore her husband's voice of love, 

As when that love was young. 

2. And thrice her son, beside her knee, 

Besought her favoring eye, 
And thrice her lisping daughter spoke. 

Before she made reply. 
"O, little daughter, many a kiss 

Ivies in this treasured line ; 
And, boy, a father's blessed prayers, 

And counsels fond are thine." 

3. And, as she drew them to her arms, 

Down her fair cheek would glide 
A gushing tear like diamond s^ark, 

A tear of love and pride. 
She took her baby from its rest 

And laid it on her knee : 
"Thou ne'er hast seen thy sire," she said. 

u But he'll be proud of thee : " 

4. "Yes, he'll be proud of thee, my dove, 

The lily of our line, 



90 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

I know what eye of blue he loves, 

And such an eye is thine. " 
"Where is my father gone, mamma?" 

Why does he stay so long? " 
"He's far away in Congress' Hall, 

Amid the noble throng : 

5. "He's in the lofty Congress' Hall, 

To swell the high debate, 
And help to frame those equal laws 

That make our land so great. 
But ere the earliest violets bloom 

We in his arms shall be, 
So go to rest, my children dear, 

And pray for him and me." 

6. The snow-flakes rear'd their drifted mound 

O'er hill and valley deep, 
But nought amid that peaceful home 

Disturb'd the dews of sleep ; 
For lightly, like an angel's dream, 

The trance of slumber fell, 
Where innocence and holy love 

Maintain'd their guardian spell. 

7. Another eve — another scroll, 

Wist ye what words it said ? 
Two words, two awful words it bore, 

The duel! and the dead! 
The duel ? and the dead ? How dim 

Was that young mother's eye, 
How fearful was her lengthen'd swoon, 

How wild her piercing cry. 



THE HOME OF THE DUELIST. 91 

8. There's many a wife whose bosom's lord 

Is in his prime laid low, 
Ingulf d beneath the wat'ry main, 

Where bitter tempests blow ; 
Or crush 'd amid the battle-field, 

Where slaughtered thousands rest ; 
Yet know they of the speechless pang 

That rives her bleeding breast ? 

9. Who lies so powerless on her couch, 

Transfix'd by sorrow's sting ? 
Her infant in its nurse's arms, 

Like a forgotten thing. 
A dark-hair'd boy is at her side — 

He lifts his eagle-eye : 
"Mother! they say my father's dead ; 

How did my father die? " 

10. Again the spear-point in her breast! 

Again that shriek of pain! 
"Child, thou hast riven thy mother's soul! 

Speak not those words again." 
"Speak not those words again, my son! " 

What boots the fruitless care ? 
They're written wheresoe'er she turns, 

On ocean, earth, or air : 

11. They're sear'd upon her shrinking heart, 

That bursts beneath its doom : 
The duel! and the dead! they haunt 

The threshold of her tomb. 
Yes, through her brief and weary years 

That broken heart she bore, 



92 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTOEY. 

And on her desolated cheek 
The smile sat never more. 

RECREATIONS. 

What is meant by a duel? When in common use in 

America ? 
Who fought a notable duel in 1804? 
Tell something of Hamilton; of Burr. 
When and where was the duel fought ? 
What was the sad result ? 
What is said of Hamilton as a man ? 



LESSON XXVI. 



PERRY'S VICTORY. 

1. On the 10th of September, 1813, was fought one of the most 
famous battles in the history of wars. The British were undisputed 
masters of the Great Lakes, when Oliver H. Perry, x a young man, 
twenty-seven years old, who had been with his father in the war with 
Tripoli, but who had never commanded a battle, asked the privilege 
of building a fleet at Brie, and of giving battle to the British squad- 
ron. This was commanded by Barclay, 2 one of Nelson's veterans. 

2. Perry was six months preparing a fleet, mainly built from the 
timber which grew near the lake. So rapidly did the young officer 
push the work that ' 'wood, growing at day-break, was cut, sawed and 
nailed in its place on a ship before night-fall." Guns, ammunition 
and other equipments for the vessels had to be brought overland from 
Philadelphia and New York; even the sailors who fought the battle, 
were brought in stage coaches five hundred miles through the wilder- 
ness. 

3. At last Perry had ten vessels carrying fifty-four guns. He 
named his flag ship "Lawrence," in honor of the naval officer killed 
but a short time before, in a battle on the eastern shore. His other 
large vessel he named ' 'Niagara. ' ' 

I. COMMODORE 0. H. PERRY died of yellow fever, on his birthday in 1819, 

contracted while cruising along the coast of South America. 
2. COMMODORE BARCLAY had lost an arm in his service with Nelson, years 
before this battle, and he lost the other during the engagement on I^ake 
Erie. 



PEKBTS VICTORY. 93 

4. Pern- longed to engage the British, and day after day, with 
glass in hand, he watched for the British squadron. On the morning 
of the 10th of September, he saw six ships approaching, and he gave 
orders for his fleet to get under way. 

5. The morning was perfect, not a cloud dimmed the blue sky, 
and the lake, like a mirror, reflected its beauty. Perry, on the deck 
of the * 'Lawrence," unfurled a banner, prepared for the occasion, and 
said to his sailors, ' 'My brave lads, this contains the dying words of 
Captain Lawrence — shall I hoist it?" "Aye! Aye, sir!" was the 
response. Up went the nag, and as it floated in the morning breeze, 
and the sailors from the other ships read the words — "don't give 
up THE ship," they greeted it with loud cheers. 

6. Perry's fleet sailed toward the enemy, and when a mile and a 
half distant, a bugle sounded on the "Detroit," Barclay's flag ship. 
It was a signal for the battle to begin and the first shot was fired. 
The distance was too great for Perry's small guns, and for the next 
half hour he sailed silently toward the enemy, exposed to their fire. 
The battle then opened, and for two hours it raged until the "Law- 
rence," Perry's flag ship, riddled and shattered, was in a sinking 
condition aud most of his men wounded. 

7. The young commander saw that if his flag ship surrendered, 
the whole fleet would surrender. So, seeing the "Niagara" was 
unharmed, he resolved to go to her and make a vigorous attack upon 
the British. Lowering a boat, taking with him. his little brother 
twelve years of age, and four stout seamen, and folding the banner 
about himself, he started for the "Niagara," saying, "If a victory is 
to be gained, I will gain it." 

8. It was a daring act. The enemy turned their guns upon him, 
and his men were covered with spray from the shot that smote the 
water on every side; their oars were splintered, and young Perry's 
cap was torn with bullets, but the brave commander, standing erect in 
the open boat, remained unharmed, although he had been exposed to 
a leaden storm for half a mile's ride. 

9. Arriving at the "Niagara," he hoisted the flag, set the signal 
for close action, bore steadily down upon the centre of the British 
line; he plunged between their ships, firing broadside after broadside. 

10. The fi^ht was terrible for a few moments, and the two fleets 
were completely enveloped in smoke. An action so close and mur- 
derous could not last long, and in seven minutes a white handker- 
chief waved from the top of "Queen Charlotte," one of the British 
ships, and the battle ceased. 1 

I. AMERICANS had 2 7 killed and 96 wounded; British had 200 killed and 
wounded. 



94 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ii. Perry wrote on the back of an old envelope to General Harri- 
son: "We have met the enemy and they are ours — two ships, two- 
brigs, one schooner and one sloop. ' ' 

i. 'Twas on Lake Erie's broad expanse, — 

An autumn morn ; — the early light 
Reflecting many a sunbeam's glance 

On crest of wave so pure and bright, 
And sparkling on the Lake's clear breast 

A million gems, like starry eyes 
With lustre shine, then sink to rest 

Beneath the tide no more to rise. 

2. 'Twould seem a crime this peaceful morn 

To break calm Nature's sweet repose, 
To see the flags and banners torn, 

And hear the clash and clang of foes ; 
Two massive fleets with anchors down 

Lie in the harbors East and West, 
And like the clouds before a storm 

Are full of might and power repressed. 

3. Young Perry's heart is strong and brave, 

And from "Gibraltar's Island" heights 
With glass in hand he scans the waves 

Through weary days and sleepless nights ; 
And restless like a battle steed 

That scents the conflict from afar — 
He oft had longed his fleet to lead 

Where glory waits the conqueror. 

4. "Sail ho! " the stirring words ring out 

And fill the sailors' hearts with cheer ; 
From ship to ship the welcome shout 



PERRY'S VICTORY. 95 

Re-echoes o'er the waters clear. 
From Perry's bark the trumpet's might 

Bids heroes to the conflict lead, 
Proclaims the enemy in sight 

And nerves the soul for a gallant deed. 

5. Now dark against the morning skies 

Six ships advance with sails outspread, 
And England's flag from mast-head flies — 

A flag all lands had learned to dread. 
The bugler sounds the signal note, 

And bands declare the coming fray, — 
And booming forth from Detroit's port 

A deadly missile takes its way. 

6. Columbia's vessels glide along 

To meet Britannia's boasted fleet, 
And from the royal mast-head strong 

A banner waves with thought replete, — 
A flag inscribed with words so dear 

Which Law r rence, with his dying lip 
In accents calm, and voice so clear 

Had spoken, "Don't give up the ship." 

7. A second shot from Barclay's guns 

Goes crashing through the Lawrence' tower, 
Yet silent stand Columbia's sons 

Though longing for the conflict's hour. 
"Now, steady boys," the leader said, 

His dark eyes flashing in their pride, 
"Get under way," his orders read, 

"And bring the vessels side by side." 



96 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

8. And ere the sun the zenith climbs, 

The fleets together clash, and pour 
Their broadsides into spars and winds 

Till masts and sails are seen no more ; 
For clouds of smoke envelop all, 

Their weakness hide, their strength conceal, 
Enfold them like a funeral pall 

While bugles sound and cannon peal. 

9. Two hours the furious battle raged, 

Two hours the sturdy gunners stood 
And fought like fiercest beasts uncaged, 

Till hull and hold and decks ran blood. 
There on the bosom of the Lake 

The Lawrence helpless, silent lay ; 
Her flag still waving o'er the deck — 

Ensign of vict'ry not dismay. 

10. Her captain cried : "Let down a boat 

And to Niagara's guns we'll row — 
Spread wide her sails — but one bold stroke 

And swift to victory's hour we go." 
And then with mien so calm and frank, 

The warrior doffs his jacket blue 
And dons his uniform of rank, 

Leaps to the boat to join his crew. 

11. With banner folded 'round his form 
Like Knight of old in coat of mail 

The hero, through a leaden storm, 
Rides calm, erect in vessel frail. 

His oarsmen reach Niagara's side 

And to her decks they quickly climb, 



PE BEY'S VIC TOBY. 97 

They charge the guns, and sails spread wide, 
Bear down and break Britannia's line. 

The cannons cease ; the vapors blue 

Are borne away by gentle gale, 
And Briton's colors, once in view, 

Are seen no more 'twixt mast and sail. 
And Perry, in this moment proud, 

Dispatched a note to higher powers ; 
His triumph in brave words avowed, — 

"We've met the foe and they are ours." 

— B. C. Murphy. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate ' 'Great Lakes"; "Tripoli". 
What is a squadron ? A fleet ? 
What were Lawrence's dying words? 
What name did Perry give his flag-ship ? 
Tell about Perry's little brother; Barclay. 
What message did Perry send to Harrison ? 



LESSON XXVIL 



THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER. 

1. During the war of 181 2, the British ravaged the Atlantic coast, 
burning villages, farm buildings and robbing churches. Meeting 
with little opposition, General Ross 1 marched to Washington and 
destroyed the Congressional Library, burned the Capitol 2 and other 
public buildings, in all, to the amount of $2,000,000. He then went 
down the Potomac, sailed up the Chesapeake Bay to attack Baltimore. 
Before reaching the city, the army disembarked and moved against it 
by land. 

I. GENERAL ROSS : An Irish officer from Wellington's army. 
.2 CAPITOL ! The President's house as well as the Capitol, or where Congress 
meets, was burned. 



98 FLASH-LIOHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

2. Two mechanics, who had learned of the approach of the British 
troops, hid themselves in a tree, fired into the advancing army and 
General Ross fell, mortally wounded. His horse galloping wildly to 
the rear with its empty saddle wet with blood, told the story of his 
rider. The British fleet bombarded Fort McHenry 1 from the Pat- 
apsco river. On board the ship Minden, was Francis Scott Key, who 
had gone there under a flag of truce to secure the release of his friend, 
Dr. Beams. He was informed by the commander that they would not 
be permitted to leave the vessel until he had captured the fort, which 
would be the work of only a few hours. 

3. The conflict opened, and the two Americans watched the "old 
flag" floating over Fort McHenry during the entire day, with anxious 
thoughts, until the darkness prevented them from seeing it. During 
the night they paced the deck of the vessel, watching the progress of 
the battle. The flash of the cannon's fire from the fort, gave them 
occasional glimpses of the "Stars and Stripes" still waving in 
triumph, but their courage failed when just before daylight the firing 
ceased. 

4. With painful suspense they watched for the return of the day. 
As morning dawned, it was with a thrill of joy that they saw "our flag 
still there. ' ' While watching the battle, Francis Scott Key had writ- 
ten on the back of a letter, lines describing the conflict, and when he 
reached Baltimore, the poem was placed in the hands of the printer, 
and in a few hours the people of the city hailed with delight, "The 
Star Spangled Banner." 

i. Oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early ligftt, 

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last 
gleaming, 
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the 
perilous fight, 
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly 

streaming ? 
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, 
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still 

there. 
Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave ? 

I. FORT MCHENRY: The fort which guarded the approach to the city by 
water. 



TR& STAB-SPANGLED BANNER. 99 

U On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the 
deep, 
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence re- 
poses, 
What is that whicn the breeze, o'er the towering 
steep, 
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses t 
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, 
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream : 
'Tis the star-spangled banner : oh, long may it wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

3. And where is that band who so vauntingly swore, 

That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion, 
A home and a country should leave us no more ? 

Their blood has washed out their foul footstep's 
pollution. 
No refuge could save the hireling and slave 
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave : 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

4. Oh, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand 

Between their loved home and wild war's desola- 
tion ; 
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued 
land 
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us 
a nation! 
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, 
And this be our motto : "In God is our trust ; " 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave 
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave, 

— Francis S. Key. 



ioo FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate Washington, Baltimore, Fort McHenry. 

What is meant by the Capitol ? 

Who was General Ross ? How killed ? 

Who wrote "Star-Spangled Banner?" 

Tell the storv of the author. 



LESSON XXVIII. 



OSCEOLA. 

i. After Florida was ceded to the United States in 1819, that State 
became famous for its rich soil and mild climate, and its value in- 
creased yearly. The white people could not settle the State rapidly, 
because of the hostility of the Seminole Indians, who inhabited the 
territory. Florida became a great refuge for runaway slaves, whose 
capture was almost hopeless. They intermarried with the Indians, 
and their children were known as Maroons. 

2. The federal Government wished to rid the land of the Semi- 
noles, and sent Colonel Gadsden, l who concluded a treaty with them 
at Payne's Landing, 2 Florida, May, 1832, by which it was agreed that 
seven chiefs of the Seminoles should visit the country given to the 
Creek Indians, west of the Mississippi, and report what they thought 
of the land. If the section w T ere found favorable, and they could 
live in harmony near the Creeks, the Seminoles were to emigrate 
thither inside of three years, giving up all their lands in Florida. 

3. The report of the "seven chiefs" was favorable, but before the 
time for their going had elapsed, a new chief had assumed com- 
mand of the Seminoles. Osceola, a half breed, of great bravery, and 
otherwise known as Powell, denied the validity of the treaty which 
gave away the Seminoles' land, and stirred up the Indians to fight and 
die, rather than leave their ancient homes and hunting grounds. 

4. Osceola married a beautiful Maroon girl, the daughter of a run- 
away slave. She accompanied her husband, Osceola, to Fort King, 

I. Colonel James Gasden, of South Carolina, served with Jackson in the Semi- 
nole War in Florida, in 1818. He was sent on a mission to Mexico in 1853, 
and made a treaty establishing the boundary line between United States 
and Mexico. In accordance with this treaty, United States paid Mexico 
$10,000,000 for Arizona. 
2. PAYNE'S LANDING : ° n west coast of Fldi ids. 




OSCEOLA 



OSCEOLA. ioi 

where he went to counsel with government officers. While at the 
fort, the wife of Osceola was seized as a slave by the former owner of 
her mother, who had belonged to a Georgian family. Osceola was 
frantic with rage, and pledged himself in the presence of the military 
officers to have revenge on the white people. 

5. General Thompson put the crafty, treacherous chief in irons; 
and not until he had promised to be civil, and to give his consent to 
have the treaty of 1832 carried out, was he liberated. After all, he 
was only deluding the officers, and was secretly planning war against 
the government. 

6. He returned to his people, and, in violation ot his promise, and 
for the purpose of healing his wounded pride, he immediately entered 
into a conspiracy to massacre the whites. Plantations were devasta. 
ted, houses burned and negroes carried off. 

7. General Thompson had too much confidence in the friendship 
of the Indians. He and nine associates were dining one beautiful day 
in a house about two hundred yards outside the fort. The climate 
being mild, the windows were all up. Osceola, the famous warrior, 
and his braves crept to the house, and, while the officers were at 
the table, ^\e of them were shot — General Thompson receiving fifteen 
bullets into his body. 

8. The same day, while Major Dade, who had been sent to the 
relief of one of the inland forts with one hundred and seventeen men, 
was waylaid near Wahoo Swamp. The commander and every soldier 
were killed, with the exception of one, who was mortally wounded. 
He feigned death, and was thrown with the others in a heap, but he 
afterwards lived long enough to get back to his countrymen. This is 
known as "Dade's Massacre," and has but few parallels in the history 
of Indian warfare. 

9. General Scott was sent to Florida with more troops to subdue 
the Seminoles, but they fled to the Everglades, where it was difficult 
to follow them, and easy for the Indians to baffle and surprise their 
pursuers. 

10. In 1837, Osceoia appeared with a flag of truce at the American 
camp. Fearing a repetition of his treachery, he was seized and car- 
ried to Fort Moultrie, 1 where, as a prisoner, he died of fever in 1S38. 
Although their brave chief was gone, yet the Seminoles kept up a war- 
fare. Colonel Taylor followed them into the swamps and defeated 
them in a great battle at Okechobee on Christmas day, 1837. They 
were not wholly subdued until 1842. 

I. FORT MOULTRIE ! On Sullivan's Island, South Carolina named for Colonel 
Moultrie, who defended the fort so gallantly in 1776. 



102 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTOtiY. 

1. Blaze with your serried columns! 

I will not bend the knee! 
The shackles ne'er again shall bind 

The arm which now is free. 
I've mail'd it with the thunder, 

When the tempest mutter' d low ; 
And where it falls, ye well ma}' dread 

The lightning of its blow! 

o o 

2. I've scared you in the city, 

I've scalp'd you on the plain ; 
Go, count your chosen, where they fell 

Beneath my leaden rain! 
I scorn your proffer'd treaty! 

The pale-face I defy! 
Revenge is stamp'd upon my spear, 

And blood my battle-cry! 

3. Some strike for hope of booty ; 

Some to defend their all : 
I battle for the joy I have 

To see the white man fall : 
I love, among the wounded, 

To hear his dying moan, 
And catch, while chanting at his side. 

The music of his groan. 

4. Ye've trail'd me through the forest! 

Ye've track'd me o'er the stream! 
And, struggling through the everglade, 
Your bristling bayonets gleam ; 



THE SEMINOLE'S DEFIANCE. 103 

But I stand as should the warrior, 

With his rifle and his spear : 
The scalp of vengeance still is red, 

And warns ye, come not here! 

I loathe you in my bosom! 

I scorn you with mine eye! 
And I'll taunt ye with my latest breath, 

And fight ye till I die! 
I ne'er will ask for quarter, 

And I ne'er will be your slave ; 
But I'll swim the sea of slaughter, 

Till I sink beneath its wave! 

G. W. Patten. 

RECREATIONS. 

When did United States get possession of Florida ? 
What Indians in Florida that gave trouble ? 
Tell about General Gadsden's treaty. 
Who was Osceola ? Whom did he marry ? 
What is meant by ' 'treacherous chief ' ' ? 
Tell of the massacres of Thompson, and Dade. 
Who finally subdued the Seminoles ? 



LESSON XXIX. 



BLACK HAWK'S ADDRESS. 

1. Indian wars were frequent during Andrew Jackson's adminis- 
tration. As the people pushed farther into the western country, they 
met new and more hostile tribes of Indians. The Sacs and Foxes, 
tribes which occupied the Rock river country of Illinois, were found 
to be treacherous and savage. A quarter of a century before, or just 
after the war of 181 2, these tribes had sold their lands to the United 
States, but continued to inhabit them. 

2. When the march of civilization extended its borders, and the 
rich lead mines were opened at Galena, people flocked to that region 



104 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

and took possession of the land belonging to the government. The 
Indians were asked to move off the territory which they had sold to 
the United States, but they refused to do so, claiming that the sale of 
their lands had been illegal. 

3. Black Hawk, a famous chief of the Sacs, was determined to 
live there and ' 'defend the graves of his fathers. ' ' He and his war- 
riors attacked the miners who had come into the territory. Several 
white people were massacred, and for a while the Indians kept the 
settlers alarmed. Governor Reynolds called out the State military 
force, and General Scott was sent with United States troops, from the 
Atlantic coast to subdue the hostile tribes. 

4. Black Hawk, the fiery chief, at the head of a thousand picked 
warriors, after burning many settlements and committing many mas- 
sacres, met General Scott's army in open battle, and was defeated 
August 2, 1832. Black Hawk and his warriors were taken prisoners, 
and he and his two sons were carried in irons to Fort Jefferson. This 
grieved the old chieftain, and he delivered a notable address to the 
general in charge. 

5. Black Hawk was afterwards taken to the eastern cities to show 
him the power and greatness of the nation he was fighting. Having 
had an interview with President Jackson, and having seen the wealth 
of the United States as displayed in the east, he returned home con- 
vinced by his tour that resistance against so powerful a country was 
useless, and so impressed was he with the folly of trying to overcome 
the white people, that he advised his warriors to lay down their arms 
and leave the territory. With regret, Black Hawk abandoned to the 
"pale-faces," 1 the ancient hunting grounds of his tribe, and retired to 
Iowa where he died in 1838. 

i. You have taken me prisoner, with all my war- 
riors. I am much grieved ; for I expected if I did 
not defeat you, to hold out much longer, and give you 
more trouble before I surrendered. I tried hard to bring 
you into ambush ; but your last general understood In- 
dian fighting. I determined to rush on you and fight 
you face to face. I fought hard. But your guns were 
well aimed. The bullets flew like birds in the air, and 

whizzed by our ears like the wind through the trees in 

1 

\ % PALE-FACE: The name given to the white people by the Indians. 



BLA GK EA WK ' S ADDRESS. 105 

winter. My warriors fell around me ; it began to look 
dismal. I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose dim 
on us in the morning, and at night it sank in a dark 
cloud, and looked like a ball of fire. That was the last 
sun that shone on Black Hawk. 

2. His heart is dead, and no longer beats quick in 
in his bosom. He is now a prisoner to the white men ; 
they will do with him as they wish. But he can stand 
torture, and is not afraid of death. He is no coward. 
Black Hawk is an Indian. He has done nothing for 
which an Indian should be ashamed. He has fought 
for his countrymen, against white men who came, year 
after year, to cheat them and take away their lands. 
You know the cause of our making war. It is known 
to all white men. They ought to be ashamed of it. 
The white men despise the Indians, and drive them 
from their homes. They smile in the face of the poor 
Indian to cheat him ; they shake him by the hand to 
gain his confidence, to make him drunk, and to deceive 
him. 

3. We told them to let us alone and keep away from 
us, but they followed on and beset our paths, and they 
coiled themselves among us like the snake. They poi- 
soned us by their touch. We were not safe. We lived 
in danger. We looked up to the Great Spirit. We went 
to our father. We were encouraged. His great coun- 
cil gave us fair words and big promises, but we got no 
satisfaction ; things were growing worse. There were 
no deer in the forest. The opossum and the beaver 
were fled. The springs were drying up, and our squaws 
and pappooses without victuals to keep them from starv- 
ing. 



io6 FLASH LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

4. We called a great council, and built a large fire. 
The spirit of our fathers arose and spoke to us to avenge 
our wrongs or die. We set up the war-whoop, and dug 
up the tomahawk ; our knives were ready, and the 
heart of Black Hawk swelled high in his bosom when 
he led his warriors to battle. He is satisfied. He will 
go to the world of spirits contented. He has done his 
duty. His father will meet him there and commend 
him. Black Hawk is a true Indian, and disdains to cry 
like a woman. He feels for his wife, his children, and 
his friends. But he does not care for himself. He cares 
for the nation and the Indians. They will suffer. He 
laments their fate. 

5. Farewell, my nations! Black Hawk tried to save 
you and avenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of 
some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner, and 
his plans are stopped. He can do no more. He is near 
his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise no more. 
Farewell to Black Hawk! 

RECREATIONS. 

When was Jackson President ? 

Who was Black Hawk ? Tell about his great fight. 
Locate Galena; Fort Jefferson. 

Tell about Black Hawk's eastern visit. When and where 
did he die ? 



LESSON XXX. 



ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. 

1. Previous to the year 1844, all news was sent by messengers or by 
letter. It took two days to earn' the news from New York to Phila- 
delphia, or from Baltimore to Washington, and to send messages from 
one to two hundred miles was a big undertaking. 



ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. 107 

2. The great triumph over time and space — the result of human 
genius — was brought about by Professor Samuel Morse, inventor of 
the ''Electric Telegraph." He had been spending some time in 
Europe, where he studied painting under Benjamin West. On his 
return trip to America, while in conversation with some friends on a 
French vessel, he told them of a plan he had in mind to send mes- 
sages by the use of electricity. 

3. He labored long before he was enabled to bring his idea to the 
test of public sentiment, experimenting on the details of the inven- 
tion by putting half a mile of wire in coils around his room, and 
sending through it messages which were correctly reported at the 
other end of the wire. A patent for his invention was applied for 
and received after much delay. 

4. In 1837, Morse asked Congress to aid him in putting his inven- 
tion into operation, but many Congressmen ridiculed the idea of 
appropriating money for such a purpose, and "one member moved 
that the Secretary use the money to construct a railroad to the moon." 
It was not until the last hour of the session of Congress in 1843, tnat 
$30,000 were voted to construct a telegraph line between Baltimore 
and Washington, on which to prove that a message could be sent 
forty miles. 

5. The line was completed in 1844, and the first message sent was. 
"What hath God wrought ?" This was suggested to Morse by Annie 
Ellsworth, x his friend, who sent the first telegram May 29, 1844. 

6. The first news sent over the line was the nomination at Balti- 
more, of James K. Polk as President of the United States. This mes- 
sage was published next morning in the papers, but ' 'talking with 
Baltimore was so new and strange, that people could not realize the 
fact," and many would not believe in it, until word was brought by 
mail two days afterward, confirming the truth of the telegram. 

7. This great invention, which a century ago had not been dreamed 
of, marked an era in civilization and proved a great blessing to man- 
kind. To-day, telegraph lines cover the country as with a net, con- 
necting all parts of the civilized world. Cities and villages are joined 
by connecting lines which carry our messages like a flash of light. 
Its great cables stretch upon the bed of the ocean, connecting conti- 
nents and bringing them into instant communication. 2 "Armies 

j. Miss Anna Ellsworth was the daughter of Professor Morse's friend who had 
charge of the Patent office in Washington. When she came to the hotel 
to inform Morse that a few moments before 12 o'clock, the previous night, 
Congress had voted him money to try his invention, Professor Morse 
said to Miss Ellsworth: "Now, Annie, when my line is built from Wash- 
ington to Baltimore, you shall send the first message over it." 

2. In May 1S44, Miss Ellsworth sent the words of the first message which are 
found in Numbers xxm-25. 



ioS FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

march, and fleets sail at its bidding; treaties are negotiated at its 
word. We find it congratulating a bride here, and ordering a funeral 
there; here arranging for feasts and there for fights; here telling of 
law-making and there of law-breaking; the wires which thread the 
ocean thrill with the hopes and fears of nations. ' ' 

8. No other invention has exercised so beneficient an influence on 
the welfare of the human race as has the electric telegraph. 

i. Hark! the warning needles click, 

Hither — thither — clear and quick. 

He who guides their speaking play, 

Stands a thousand miles away! 

Here we feel the electric thrill 

Guided by his simple will ; 

Here the instant message read, 

Brought with more than lightning speed. 
Sing who will of Orphean lyre, 
Ours the wonder-working wire! 

2. Let the sky be dark or clear, 
Comes the faithful messenger ; 
Now it tells of loss and grief, 
Now of joy in sentence brief, 
Now of safe or sunken ships, 
Now the murderer outstrips, 
Now of war and fields of blood, 
Now of fire, and now of flood. 

Sing who will of Orpehan lyre, 
Ours the wonder-working wire! 

3. Think the thought, and speak the word, 
It is caught as soon as heard, 

Borne o'er mountains, lakes, and seas, 
To the far antipodes ; 



ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH. 109 

Boston speaks at twelve o'clock, 
Natchez reads ere noon the shock. 
Seems it not a feat sublime ? 
Intellect has conquered Time! 

Sing who will of Orpehan lyre, 

Ours the wonder-werking wire! 

Marvel! — triumph of our day, 
Flash all ignorance away! 
Flash sincerity of speech, 
Noblest aims to all who teach ; 
Flash till Power shall learn the Right, 
Flash till Reason conquer Might ; 
Flash resolve to every mind ; 
Manhood flash to all mankind! 

Sing who will of Orphean lyre, 

Ours the wonder-working wire! 

RECREATIONS, 

Who invented the electric telegraph ? 
When and where was the first telegraph line built ? 
What was the first message sent ? The first news ? 
Tell something of the telegraph lines in America. 
How does the telegraph compare with other inventions ? 



LESSON XXXI. 



MONTEREY. 

1. When the American Army, under General Taylor, marched to 
to the city of Monterey 1 in 1846, he found it lying embosomed in the 
mountains, half hidden by the clustering trees, and difficult to ap- 
proach. It was surrounded by mountains and impassable ravines. 
The Mexicans had built a series of strong forts on the heights, pre- 

I. MONTEREY: ° lle of the natural strongholds of the Mexicans. 



no FLASH- LIGHTS ON AMEBIC AN HISTORY. 

paratory to either a storm of shot aud shell or a siege. It was a daring 
movement of the Americans with an inferior force to attack the 
famons city, when the hillsides and palace bristled with cannon. On 
all the heights, and at every loop-hole of the citadel, those instru- 
ments of death stood ready to pour forth volleys into the ranks of the 
invading army. 

2. To look at the preparations, it seemed impossible to believe 
that any army could take a city with every avenue so well guarded, 
yet on September 21, 1846, the determined valor of the Northern sol- 
diers led them to carry the heights in the rear of the city. The Bish- 
op's palace 1 was taken the day following, and the city entered. The 
soldiers fought from street to street, and from house to house, digging 
their way through stone walls with crowbars and picks, and passing 
over roofs to avoid the fire which was pouring upon them from every 
opening. 

3. They passed one obstacle after another, until they reached the 
Grand Plaza 2 where the Mexican flag was flying. It was removed 
and the victorious flag of the Union hoisted. The Northern soldiers 
then turned upon the buildings where the Mexicans were concealed, 
charged up dark stairways to the flat roofs of the houses, and forced 
the Mexicans, under General Ampudia, to surrender the entire garri- 
son. 

4. For four days the fighting was of the severest character, and 
many lives were lost. After the battle, the Mexican women gathered 
upon the bloody battle field to care for the wounded and dying, both 
Americans and Mexicans. Many a wounded or dying soldier of the 
North had reason to thank the brave women of a nation he had fought 
against. 

5. The victories which Taylor gained at Monterey and Buena Vista 
made him the next President. 3 

i. We were not many, — we who stood 

Before the iron sleet that day ; 
Yet many a gallant spirit would 
Give half his years if but he could 

Have been with us at Monterey. 

1. BlSHQP'S PALACE ; A stately pile of white limestone; an unfinished stone 
building. 

2 GRAND PLAZA : A Public Square, 810 feet long and 600 feet wide. The 
centre of which was laid out and planted in flowers, and surrounded by- 
trees and seats for visitors. 

3. The victories made him very popular. He died m office. 



MONTEREY. HI 

2. Now here, now there, the shot is hailed 

In deadly drifts of fiery spray, 
Yet not a single soldier quailed 
When wounded comrades round them wailed 

Their dying shout at Monterey. 

3. And on, still on our column kept, 

Through walls of flame, its withering way ; 
Where fell the dead, the living slept, 
Still charging on the guns which swept 

The slippery streets of Monterey. 

4. The foe himself recoiled aghast, 

When, striking where he strongest lay, 
We swooped his flanking batteries past, 
And, braving full their murderous blast, 

Stormed home the towers of Monterey. 

5. Our banners on those turrets wave, 

And there our evening bugles play ; 
Where orange-boughs above their graves, 
Keep green the memory of the brave, 

Who fought and fell at Monterey. 

6. We are not many, — we who passed 

Beside the brave who fell that day ; 
But who of us has not confessed 
He'd rather share their warrior rest 

Than have not been at Monterey. 

— Charles Hoffman. 

Note. — The poem is taken from "Heroic Ballads" by permission of Ginn & 
Company, Publishers. 



ii2 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

RECREATIONS. 

When and by whom was the battle of Monterey f onght ? 

What was the cause of the Mexican War ? 

Why was the city of Monterey difficult to approach ? 

How did the U. S. troops get to the heart of the city ? 

Who was the Mexican General ? Who the American ? 

Who helped care for the wounded ? 

What territory did the United States gain by the war? 



LESSON XXXII. 



THE SOUTH IN THK REVOLUTION.* 

i. RoDert Y. Hayne, the son of a Revolutionary hero, 1 who had 
fallen a victim of British cruelty, was a native of South Carolina. 
During his brief but busy life he served in the war of 1812, held the 
office of Attorney-General in his own State, and later was elected to 
the United States Senate, and chosen Governor of South Carolina. It 
was, however, his brilliancy in public speaking that gained for him 
his great distinction, and gave him a name and place as one of the 
greatest American orators. 

2. On all occasions Hayne had an invincible confidence in him- 
self; there was a gallant air about him that won the admiration of his 
hearers, and made him a popular and effective speaker. He was of 
medium size and well formed, of youthful appearance, and possessed 
a variety of abilities which were of an eminently practical cast. 
His oratory was graceful, his voice pleasing, his eyes peculiarly bril- 
liant and expressive, his language rich and vigorous, and his gestures 
vehement. His celebrated debate with Webster took place in the 
Senate Chamber January, 1830, on Foote's resolution respecting the 
public lands. It was an argument on a great question, regarding 
which the North and South differed widely. 

3. On this occasion f surrounded by those whose sympathetic coun- 
tenances indicated the apparent success of his great effort, Hayne 

I. COLONEL WILLIAM HAYNE: A first cousin of Colonel Isaac Hayne, the 

Revolutionary patriot. > 

♦This lesson and the one following are excellent selections for use in public 
declamation. Two persons may be chosen to deliver these selections, one repre- 
senting Hayne and the other Webster. In this way they may be made very 
effective. 



THE SOUTH IN THE HE VOLUTION. 113 

was at his best, and showed beyond doubt that he was the most for- 
midable opponent with which Mr. Webster had to contend in the 
United States Senate. Hayne's speech and Webster's reply have long 
taken their places as classics in volumes of American eloquence. 
They have been read and recited by thousands of people, and thou- 
sands of others have enjoyed Hayne's speech as an eulogy on his 
native state. 

i. If there be one State in the Union, Mr. President, 
(and I say it not in a boastful spirit,) that may challenge 
comparison with any other, for a uniform, zealous, ar- 
dent, and uncalculating devotion to the Union, that 
State is South Carolina. Sir, from the very commence- 
ment of the Revolution, up to this hour, there is no sac- 
rifice, however great, she has not cheerfully made, no 
service she has ever hesitated to perform. She has 
adhered to you in your prosperity ; but in your adver- 
sity she has clung to you with more than filial affection. 

2. No matter what was the condition of her domes- 
tic affairs, though deprived of her resources, divided by 
parties, or surrounded by difficulties, the call of the 
country has been to her as the voice of God. Domestic 
discord ceased at the sound ; every man became at once 
reconciled to his brethren, and the sons of Carolina were 
all seen crowding together to the temple, bringing their 
gifts to the altar of their common country. 

3. What, sir, was the conduct of the South during 
the Revolution? Sir, I honor New England for her 
conduct in that glorious struggle. But, great as is the 
praise which belongs to her, I think, at least, equal 
honor is due the South. They espoused the quarrel of 
their brethren with a generous zeal which did not suffer 
them to stop to calculate their interest in the dispute. 
Favorites of the mother country, possessed of neither 



n 4 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ships nor seamen to create a commercial rivalship, they 
might have found in their situation, a guaranty that 
their trade would be forever fostered and protected by 
Great Britain. But, trampling on all considerations 
either of interest or of safety, they rushed into the con- 
flict ; and, fighting for principle, periled all in the 
sacred cause of freedom. 

4. Never were there exhibited in the history of the 
world higher examples of noble daring, dreadful suffer- 
ing, and heroic endurance than by the Whigs of Caro- 
lina during the Revolution! The whole State, from 
the mountains to the sea, was overrun by an overwhelm- 
ing force of the enemy. The fruits of industry perished 
on the spot where they were produced, or were con- 
sumed by the foe. The "plains of Carolina" drank up 
the most precious blood of her citizens. Black and 
smoking ruins marked the places which had been the 
habitations of her children. Driven from their homes 
into the gloomy and almost impenetrable swamps, even 
there the spirit of liberty survived, and South Carolina 
(sustained by the example of her Sumters and her Ma- 
rions) proved by her conduct, that, though her soil 
might be overrun, the spirit of her people was invinci- 
ble. 

RECREATIONS. 

Tell something of Hayne's early life. 
What offices did he hold. 
Describe his appearance while speaking. 
When was the ''Great Debate ' ? ? 
How is Hayne's speech regarded? 
Give a quotation from his speech. 



MASSACHUSETTS AND S0UTHCAR0L1NA. 115 

LESSON XXXIII. 



MASSACHUSETTS AND SOUTH CAROLINA. 

1. Daniel Webster, the son of a distinguished soldier and patriot 
was born in New Hampshire during the last year of the Revolution 
ary War. He was one of a large family of children, and the circum, 
stances of his parents made it difficult for the young man to secure an 
education; however, through the economy of his parents, and his 
own industry, he was enabled to go through Dartmouth College. He 
was afterward Congressman and Senator. He served as Secretary of 
State under Harrison, Taylor and Fillmore. In oratory Daniel Web- 
ster was unequaled in his own and is unsurpassed in later times. 

2. His most memorable effort was his triumphant reply to Hayne 
of South Carolina, who had affirmed the right of a state to nullify the 
acts of Congress. His plea for the Union was a masterpiece which has 
been repeated again and again to many different audiences and it 
has thrilled myriads of hearts with patriotic feeling. January 26 
1830, was a day forever memorable in the Senate Chamber. Its gal- 
leries, floors and lobbies were all filled with anxious listeners. It was 
the day of the great debate. Webster was then in the very prime of 
his manhood; a man of commanding presence; of thoughtful fore- 
head, and courageous eye; he stood "like a sturdy Roundhead senti- 
nel guarding the gates of the Constitution. ' ' 

3. The nature and ability of Hayne's attack had brought thous- 
ands into the city to witness the intellectual contest, and an interest- 
ing mass of talent, intelligence and beauty surrounded the speaker 
His closing words, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and 
inseparable," became a watchword of the people, and will live as lono- 
as his country endures. 

4. During the great debate, an old farmer-friend and admirer of 
Webster's watched the proceedings of Congress with great anxiety 
After he read Hayne's great speech the old "friend" took his bed, 
convinced that Webster was crushed. He grew worse as the davs 
passed by, until Webster's reply was brought to him. He refused to 
read it at first, but finally glanced at a portion of the speech; a few 
sentences were enough to excite him. In the joy of the moment he 
threw the paper high in the air and said to his son, "Boy, bring me 
my boots, Webster has spoken." From that instant he was a well 
man. 



n6 FLASH-LIGHTS OiY AMERICAN HISTORY. 

i. The eulogium pronounced on the character of 
the state of South Carolina, by the honorable gentle- 
man, for her Revolutionary and other merits, meets my 
hearty concurrence. I shall not acknowledge that the 
honorable member goes before me in regard for what- 
ever of distinguished talent, or distinguished character, 
South Carolina has produced. I claim part of the 
honor, I partake in the pride, of her great names. I 
claim them for countrymen, one and all — the Laurenses, 
the Rutledges, the Pinckneys, the Sumters, the Marions, 
Americans all, whose fame is no more to be hemmed in 
by state lines, than their talents and patriotism were 
capable of being circumscribed within the same narrow 
limits. 

2. In their day and generation, they served and hon- 
ored the country, and the whole country ; and their re- 
nown is of the treasures of the whole country. Him 
whose honored name the gentleman himself bears — does 
he esteem me less capable of gratitude for his patriotism, 
or sympathy for his sufferings, than if his eyes had first 
opened upon the light of Massachusetts, instead of South 
Carolina ? Sir, does he suppose it in his power to ex- 
hibit a Carolina name so bright, as to produce envy 
in my bosom ? No, sir ; increased gratification and 
delight, rather. I thank God, that, if I am gifted with 
little of the spirit which is able to raise mortals to the 
skies, I have yet none, as I trust, of that other spirit, 
which would drag angels down. 

3. When I shall be found, sir, in my place here in 
the Senate, or elsewhere, to sneer at public merit, be- 
cause it happens to spring up beyond the little limits of 
my own state or neighborhood ; when I refuse, for any 



MASSACHUSETTS AND SOUTH CAROLINA. 117 

such cause, or for any cause, the homage due to Ameri- 
can talent, to elevated patriotism, to sincere devotion to 
liberty and the country ; or, if I see an uncommon en- 
dowment of Heaven, if I see extraordinary capacity and 
virtue, in any son of the South, and if, moved by local 
prejudice or gangrened by state jealousy, I get up here 
to abate the tithe of a hair from his just character and 
just » fame, may my tongue cleave to the roof of my 
mouth. 

4. Sir, let me recur to pleasing recollections ; let me 
indulge in refreshing remembrances of the past ; let me 
remind you that, in early times, no states cherished 
greater harmony, both of principle and feeling, than 
Massachusetts and South Carolina. Would to God that 
harmony might again return. Shoulder to shoulder 
they went through the Revolution ; hand to hand they 
stood round the administration of Washington, and felt 
his own great arm lean on them for support. Unkind 
feeling, if it exists, alienation and distrust, are the 
growth, unnatural to such soils, of false principles since 
sown. They are weeds, the seeds of which that same 
great arm never scattered. 

5. Mr. President, I shall enter on no encomium upon 
Massachusetts ; she needs none. There she is. Behold 
her and judge for yourselves. There is her history ; the 
world knows it by heart. The past, at least, is secure. 
There is Boston, and Concord, and Lexington, and Bun- 
ker Hill ; and there they will remain forever. The 
bones of her sons, fallen in the great struggle for inde- 
pendence, now lie mingled with the soil ot every state 
from New England to Georgia ; and there they will lie 
forever. And, sir, where American liberty raised its first 



uS FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

voice, and where its youth was nurtured and sustained, 
there it still lives, in the strength of its manhood and 
full of its original spirit. 

6. If discord and disunion shall wound it, if party 
strife and blind ambition shall hawk at and tear it, if folly 
and madness, if uneasiness under salutary and necessary 
restraint, shall succeed in separating it from that union, 
by which alone its existence is made sure, it will stand, 
in the end, by the side of that cradle in which its in- 
fancy was rocked ; it will stretch forth its arm, with 
whatever of vigor it may still retain, over the friends 
who gather round it ; and it will fall at last, if it must, 
amidst the proudest monuments of its glory, and on the 
very spot of its origin. 

RECREATIONS. 

Tell something of Daniel Webster's boyhood. 

What school did he attend ? 

What offices did he fill ? 

With whom was the ''Great Debate " ? 

What does "nullify" mean? 

Describe the "Great Debate". 

Give a quotation from his speech. 

Tell about the farmer friend. 



LESSON XXXIV. 



KOSSUTH.* 

i. On the banks of the Danube a young man sprang, 
at a single bound, from comparative obscurity to uni- 

*In September, 1851, the American steamer, "Mississippi," landed in the 
romantic waters of the Dardanelles, to bear away from the Sultan's domain, a 
greater than Caesar. His journey in the United States, where he was formally 
received as the "Nation's Guest," was a series of triumphs; a grand demonstra- 
tion of American sympathy and homage. It was expected by the people of the 
United States that this would be the exile's future home, and had personal safety 
been the motive of his life, he doubtless would have selected a quiet home under 
our "Stars and Stripes" ; but Kossuth could not rest anywhere in time of his coun- 
try's need. His one aim in life was to secure liberty for his "Fatherland." 



KOSSUTH. 119 

versal fame. His heroism organized armies. His 
genius created resources. He abolished the factitious 
order of nobility, but his exalted soul poured the celes- 
tial ichor of the gods through ten millions of peasant 
hearts, and made them truly noble. Though weak in 
all but the energies of the soul, yet it took two mighty 
empires to break down his power. When he sought 
refuge in Turkey, the sympathies of the civilized world 
attended his exile. He was invited to our shores. He 
came, and spoke as man never before spake. 

2. It was Byron's wish that he could condense all 
the raging elements of his soul 

"Into one word, 
And that one word were lightning. ' ' 

Kossuth found what Byron in rain prayed for ; for all 
his words were lightning: not bolts, but a lambent 
flame, which he poured into men's hearts, not to kill, 
but to animate with a more exalted and a diviner life. 
In cities, where the vast population went forth to hail 
him ; in academic halls, where the cultivation of elo- 
quence and knowledge is made the business of life ; in 
those great gathering-places, where the rivers of people 
have their confidence, — he was addressed by the most 
eloquent men whom this nation of orators could select. 
More than five hundred of our select speakers spoke 
before him, that which they had laboriously prepared 
from history and embellished from the poets, with severe 
toil, by the long-trimmed lamp. 

3. Save in two or three peculiar cases, nis unpre- 
pared and improvised replies, in eloquence, in pathos, 
in dignity, in exalted sentiment, excelled them all. For 
their most profound philosophy, he gave them deeper 



120 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTOBY. 

generalization : he out-circuited their widest ranges of 
thought, and in the whole sweep of the horizon, re- 
vealed glories they had never seen ; and while they 
checked their ambitious flight beneath the sun, he 
soared into the empyrean and brought down, for the 
guidance of men's hearts and deeds, the holy light that 
shines from the face of God. Though all their splen- 
dors were gathered to a focal point, they were outshone 
by his effulgence. His immortal theme was Liberty. 
Liberty for the nations! Liberty for the people! 

4. The person of this truly noble Hungarian has 
departed from our shores, but he has left a spirit behind 
him that will never die. He has scattered seeds of lib- 
erty and truth, whose flowers and fruit will become 
honors and glories amaranthine. I trust he goes to bat- 
tle for the right, not with the tongue and pen alone, but 
with all the weapons that freedom can forge and wield. 
Before the Divine government I bow in reverence and 
adoration ; but it tasks all my philosophy, and all my 
religion to believe that the despots of Europe have not 
exercised their irresponsible and cruel tyrannies too 
long. It seems too long since Charles was brought to 
the ax and Louis to the guillotine. Liberty, humanity, 
justice, demand more modern instances. 

5. The time has fully come when the despot> not 
the patriot, should feel the executioner's steel or lead. 
The time has fully come when, if the oppressed demand 
their inalienable and Heaven-born rights from their 
oppressors, and this demand is denied, that they should 
say, not exactly in the language of Patrick Henry, 
u Give me liberty or give me death" ; that was noble 
language in its day, but we have now reached an 



KOSSUTH. 121 



advanced stage in hnman development, and the time 
has fully come when the oppressed, if their rights are 
forcibly denied them, should say to the oppressor, "Give 
me liberty, or I will give you death ! " 



LESSON XXXV. 



JOHN MAYNARD. 

i. There is something about a heroic deed that we all admire. 
We love to read about how Horatius 1 "held the bridge" over 
the Tiber; how Hannibal 2 "braved the stormy Alps"; how Ar- 
nold Winklereid 3 died for his country ; how Nathan Hale and 
other Revolutionary patriots showed their bravery. These men were 
each connected with some war, and the excitement of conflicts de- 
velops heroes. But when we read of some person in civil life giving 
up his life for the sake of others, our whole being is filled with ad- 
miration for the hero. Such a feeling exists toward John Maynard, 
who was known along the lakes as an honest, God-fearing man. He 
was for many years a brave, careful pilot on steamers running be- 
tween Detroit and Buffalo. 

2. One beautiful summer afternoon as the steamer on which John 
Maynard was pilot was approaching Buffalo, smoke was seen coming 
from the lower part of the vessel. The captain told the mate to go 
below and see what was wrong. The mate came up with his face 
white with fright and said, ' 'The ship is on fire ! ' ' These words struck 

I. HORATIUS: A Roman hero who held the Tuscan army at bay while his 
comrades broke down the bridge across the Tiber ; then with a prayer to 
"Father Tiber", he plunged into the stream and amid a shower of arrows 
swam unharmed to the opposite shore. 

2. HANNIBAL : The commander-in-chief of the Carthagenian army, who start- 

ed with 100,000 men to cross the Alps from Spain into Rome. The perilous 
march lasted five months, and so great were the dangers and misfortunes 
that he landed in Italy with but 26,000 soldiers. 

3. ARNOLD VON WINKLEREID: * n the battle of Sempach, 13S6, this Swiss 

hero, in order to break the heavy armed lines of the Austrians, gathered 
a sheaf of the spears into his own bosom, shouting: "I will open a way; 
take care of my wife and children." The wall of steel was broken, and 
his comrades, rushing over Vis body, hewed down the knights in armor 
and won a victory. - 



122 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

terror to the heart of the captain, who remembered that he had on 
board large quantities of tar and rosin, which would be easily ignited 
by the flames. He called the crew up and ordered them to use the 
buckets in trying to quench the fire, but it baffled all their efforts and 
gained on the workmen. 

3. It was soon evident that the ship could not be saved, and all 
efforts were made to reach Buffalo, seven miles away. The three 
hundred passengers soon learned of the fire and were wild with ex- 
citement, and they rushed to the front of the ship to get away from 
the clouds of smoke and the fire which burst forth in great sheets of 
flame at the rear of the vessel. There was a brave man at the helm, 
who would do all in his power to save the lives of the passengers. 
Many a man would have left his post and fled, but John Maynard, 
although he saw the flames approaching nearer and nearer, until they 
"began to singe his clothing, yet stayed at his post. 

4. Everything depended upon his hand and his bravery. Nearer 
and nearer the ship came to the shore, and amid the shrieks and 
piteous cries and words of prayer could be heard the voice of the cap- 
tain calling to that brave pilot, asking if he could hold on a little 
longer. At last the keel of the boat grated on the sands of the shore 
and the passengers leaped to the land and fell on their knees, thank- 
ing Him who had saved them from a horrible death. They then 
turned to see the brave man at the w T heel, but, alas ! the hero who 
had been so faithful and remained at his post, was burned while per- 
forming his duty. 

i. 'Twas on Lake Erie's broad expanse, 

One bright midsummer day 
The gallant steamer Ocean Queen 

Swept proudly on her way. 
Bright faces clustered on the deck, 

Or leaning o'er the side, 
Watched carelessly the feathery foam, 

That flecked the rippling tide. 

2. Ah, who beneath that cloudless sky, 
That smiling bends serene, 
Could dream that danger, awful, vast, 



JOHN MAYNABD. 123 

Impended o'er the scene — 
Could dream that ere an hour had sped, 

That frame of sturdy oak 
Would sink beneath the lake's blue waves, 

Blackened with fire and smoke ? 

3. A seaman sought the captain's side, 

A moment whispered low ; 
The captain's swarthy face grew pale ; 

He hurried down below. 
Alas, too late ! Though quick and sharp 

And clear his orders came, 
No human efforts could avail 

To quench the insidious flame. 

4. The bad news quickly reached the deck, 

It sped from lip to lip, 
And ghastly faces everywhere 

Looked from the doomed ship. 
"Is there no hope — no chance of life ? ,! 

A hundred lips implore ; 
"But one," the captain made reply, 

"To run the ship on shore." 

5. A sailor, whose heroic soul 

That hour should yet reveal — 
By name John Maynard, eastern born — 

Stood calmly at the wheel. 
"Head her south-east ! " the captain shouts, 

Above the smothered roar, 
"Head her south-east without delay ! 

Make for the nearest shore ! " 



I2 4 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

6. No terror pales the helmsman's cheek, 

Or clouds his dauntless eye, 
As in a sailor's measured tone 

His voice responds, u Ay, ay !" 
Three hundred souls — the steamer's freight — 

Crowd forward wild with fear, 
While at the stern the dreadful flames 

Above the deck appear. 

7. John Maynard watched the nearing flames, 

But still, with steady hand 
He grasped the wheel, and steadfastly 

He steered the ship to land. 
"John Maynard," with an anxious voice 

The captain cries once more, 
"Stand by the wheel five minutes yet, 

And we will reach the shore." 

8. Through flames and smoke the dauntless heart 

Responded firmly, still 
Unawed, though face to face to death, 

"With God's good help I will !" 
"John Maynard, can you still hold out ?" 

He heard the captain cry ; 
A voice from out the stifling smoke 

Faintly responds, u ay! ay !" 

9. The flames approached with giant strides, 
They scorch his hand and brow ; 

One arm disabled seeks his side ; 
Ah, he is conquered now ! 

But no, his teeth are firmly set, 
He crushes down the pain, — 



JOHN MAY NARD. 125 

His knee upon the stanchion pressed, 
He guides the ship again. 

10. One moment yet ! one moment yet ! 

Brave heart, thy task is o'er ! 
The pebbles grate beneath the keel, 

The steamer touches shore. 
Three hundred grateful voices rise, 

In praise to God, that He 
Hath saved them from the fearful fire, 

And from the ingulfing sea. 

11. But where is he, that helmsman bold ? 

The captain saw him reel — 
His nerveless hands released their task, 

He sank beside the wheel. 
The wave received his lifeless corpse, 

Blackened with smoke and fire. 
God rest him ! Hero never had 

A nobler funeral pyre ! 

— Anon. 

RECREATIONS. 

What is meant by a hero ? Name several. 

Locate the Tiber river; Detroit; The Alps; Buffalo. 

What is a pilot ? a crew ? a mate ? 

Explain "at the helm". 

Tell the story of John Maynard. 



LESSON XXXVI. 



THE LAST BROADSIDE. 

1. One of the most remarkable events in the Civil war, which 
showed bravery and patriotism, occurred in the waters of Hampton 



126 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORl'. 

Roads uear Fortress Monroe. 1 In 1861, the United States Navy Yard 
at Norfolk, Va., was surrendered to the Confederates. The Merrimac, 
the finest steam frigate in the sendee, (costing more than $1,000,000), 
was scuttled and sunk by the Federals. The Confederates afterward 
raised her from the bottom of the harbor, lowered her deck, put a 
heavy plating of iron over her, fitted her with a heavy steel prow, or 
beak, and named her the "Virginia." 

2. The vessel had the appearance of a nouse sunk into the water to 
the eaves. About noon on March 8, 1862, this Confederate iron-clad, 
"Virginia," or "Merrimac," as she was called at the North, appeared 
at the mouth of the James river and headed for the Union fleet which 
was anchored only seven miles away. 

3. As the "Merrimac" approached, the "Cumberland" 2 fired a 
whole broadside against her iron sides, but the balls glanced off doing 
no harm. The "Merrimac" then attacked the "Cumberland," thrust- 
ing the iron beak, or prow, into her side, making a hole large enough 
for a man to enter. 

4. Lieutenant Morris was in command, and when the Confederate 
commander 3 demanded that he surrender, he gallantly replied: 
"Never! I'll sink along side." For nearly an hour after she had 
been injured, the crew of the ''Cumberland" continued to work their 
guns until the vessel plunged beneath the sea. As she sank, all on 
board who were able to do so jumped overboard and swam to shore, 
but the dead, wounded, and sick, to the number of one hundred, 
went down with the sinking vessel. 

i. Shall we give them a broadside, my boys, as she goes ? 
Shall we send yet another to tell, 
In iron-tongued words, to Columbia's A oes, 
How bravely her sons say farewell ? 

2. Ay! what th^ngh we sink 'neath the turDulent wave, 
"Tis with duty and right at the helm ; 

I. FORTRESS MONROE : On the Virginia coast, and strongest fort in the 
United States. 

2. CUMBERLAND: Commanded by lieutenant Morris, who sank with the 

vessel in 54 feet of water. 

3. COMMODORE FRANKLIN BUCHANAN: An American naval officer. En- 

tered the navy, 1815. Commanded the Merrimac in the duel between the 
Monitor and the Merrimac in 1862, also the iron-clad, Tennessee, in Mo 
bile Bay in 1864. 



THE LAST BROADSIDE. 127 

And over the form should the fierce waters rave, 
No tide can the spirit overwhelm! 

3. For swift o'er the billows of Charon's dark stream, 

We'll pass to the immortal shore, 
Where the waters of life in brilliancy beam, 
And the pure float in peace evermore. 

4. u Shall we give them a broadside once more, my brave 

men? " 
u Ay! ay! " was tne earnest cry ; 
"A broadside! A broadside! we'll give them again! 
Then for God and the right nobly die! " 

5. "Haste! haste! M — for amid all that battling din 

Comes a gurgling sound fraught with fear, 
As swift flowing waters pour rushingly in ; 
Up! up! till her port-holes they near. 

6. No blanching! — no faltering! — still fearless all seem : 

Each man firm to duty doth bide ; 
A flash ! and a "broadside! " a shout! a careen! 
And the Cumberland sinks 'neath the tide! 

7. The u Star-Spangled Banner" still floating above! 

As a beacon upon the dark wave! 
Our ensign of glory, proud streaming in love, 
O'er the tomb of the "Loyal and Brave! " 

8. Bold hearts ! mighty spirits! "tried gold of our land"! 

A halo of glory your meed! 
All honored, the noble-souled Cumberland band! 
So true in Columbia's need! 

— Elizabeth Beack. 



I2S FLASH-LIGHTS OlSf AMERICAN HISTORY. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate Hampton Roads; Norfolk; Fortress Monroe. 
What is a 4 'Fortress ? " A navy yard ? A fleet ? 
What is meant by the * 'Merrimac ? ' ' ' 'Virginia ? 
Who wrote the "Sinking of the Cumberland? " 



LESSON XXXVII. 



NATIONAL CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG. 

I. "Then let those tatter' d banners wave- 

Forever sacred be this ground. 
Sing peansi to those warriors brave, 
And be their deeds with glory crowned." 
The victory of Gettysburg 2 lifted a great load from the heart of Abra- 
ham Lincoln, President of the United States. For months he had 
been bowed down with cares of office, and the griefs of many, both 
North and South, were hard to bear. 

2. When the news came that the legions of Lee, 3 heretofore 
undaunted, had been repulsed, Lincoln's eyes grew brighter; he 
became more erect in form, and his voice lost much of its sadness and 
became natural. November 19, 1863, a little more than four months 
after the battle, a vast concourse of people met on the battle-field to 
consecrate a part of it as a National Cemetery. 

3. Into this cemetery were gathered the remains of the brave men 
who fell during the battle, and into which many others since have 
been gathered. Edward Everett 4 was the orator of the day, and 
under his polished eloquence the great throng of people stood spell- 
bound, and yet it was not Everett's speech that was added as a mas- 

I. PE AN .' A song of triumph. 

2. GETTYSBURG : The decisive battle of the Rebellion. The three days which 

the battle lasted, showed splendid courage 011 both sides. It was fighting 
to decide the fate of a continent. On the third day the Confederate army 
18,000 strong made a desperate charge on the centre of the Union army, 
but Hancock stood firm. Pickett's charge on the occasion was one of the 
greatest in history. 

3. LEE : One of the ablest generals of the Civil War, appointed Commander-in_ 

Chief of the Confederate Army in 1862, and held the place until the end of 
the war. 

4. EDWARD EVERETT : A distinguished American orator, scholar and states- 

man. Served as Congressman, Governor of Massachusetts, Minister to 
England, President of Harvard College, Secretary of State and United 
States Senator. 



NATIONAL CEMETERY AT GETTYSBURG. 129 

terpiece to the world's eloquence on that day, but the brief, pathetic 
address of Abraham Lincoln. Everett himself wrote President Lin- 
coln, "I shall be glad if I came as near to the central thought of the 
occasion in two hours as you did in two minutes. ' ' 

4. Although depressed in spirit, yet Lincoln arose to the occasion, 
and threw into his address all the tenderness of his noble character. 
It was the ' 'sorrowing honor for the dead and high resolve of the liv- 
ing" that seemed to pervade his soul and thrill the heart of the 
world. 

i. Four score and seven years ago, our fathers 
brought forth upon this continent a new nation, con- 
ceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that 
all men are created equal. Now, we are engaged in a 
great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any 
other nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long 
endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. 
We have come to dedicate a portion of that field as a 
final resting-place for those who here gave their lives 
that that nation might live. 

2. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should 
do this. But, in a large sense, we cannot hallow this 
ground. The brave men, living and dead, who strug- 
gled here, have consecrated it far above our power to 
add or detract. The world will little note, nor long 
remember, what we say here ; but it can never forget 

vhat they did here. 

3. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here 
to the unfinished work which they who fought here 
have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to 
be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us ; 
that from these honored dead we take increased devo- 
tion to that cause for which they gave the last full 
measure of devotion ; that we here highly resolve that 



i 3 o FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

these dead shall not have died in vain ; that this nation, 
under God, shall have a new birth of freedom ; and that 
government of the people, by the people, and for the 
people, shall not perish from the earth. 

— Lincoln. 

RECREATIONS. 

During what war was the victory at Gettysburg ? 

Tell something of the battle. 

Give Lincoln's biography. 

What is meant by National Cemetery ? 

What is meant by the * 'Orator of the day ? " 

What did Everett write to President Lincoln ? 

Memorize Lincoln's address at Gettysburgo 



LESSON XXXVIII. 



SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 

i. One of the thoroughfares of the Civil War for the march of the 
armies was the Shenandoah Valley. 1 General Jubal Early with twen- 
ty thousand men hurried up the valley, defeating General Wallace at 
Monocacy river, and pushed toward Washington. Had he continued 
his marches, he had an opportunity, at that time, of capturing the Cap- 
ital, as a portion of the Confederate army was within gunshot of the 
city, but he delayed, and the Union lines having been strengthened, 
Early was forced to retreat. He re-crossed the Potomac and went 
into the Shenandoah Valley. At that time, Sheridan was put in com- 
mand of the troops of that region. He defeated Early at Winchester 
and sent the rest of the Confederate army whirling up the Shenan- 
doah. 

2. In order to stop further raids in the direction of Washington, he 
burnt the crops, mills, barns and farming tools, and swept all the cat- 
tle along with him. He devastated the valley to such an extent that 
it was said, * 'If a crow wants to fly along the Shenandoah he must 
carry his provisions with him." The beautiful valley was left bare of 
everything that could feed or tempt an army. Early being reinforced, 
followed Sheridan through the ' Valley of starvation" to Cedar Creek. 

I. SHENANDOAH VALLEY: In Virginia. 



SHE EI DAN'S BIDE. 131 

Leaving behind swords, canteens and everything that would make a 
noise, he moved under the cloak of darkness, along a lonely path, 
until he got behind the Union army and surprised the soldiers while 
asleep, and drove the army in confusion four miles from its position. 

3. Sheridan had posted his army, and feeling secure had gone to 
Washington. Returning, at Winchester 1 he heard * 'the terrible grumble 
and rumble and roar." Knowing the importance of his presence, he 
mounted his horse, and putting spurs to the coal-black steed, he rode 
at a furious speed and never drew rein until his horse, covered with 
foam, dashed upon the battle-field, where a great cheer greeted him 
from the Union cavalry. Riding down the lines without slacking 
his speed, he shouted, "Face the other way boys, we're going back." 
Under the magnetism of his presence, the retreating troops turned 
and followed him back to the field, and before night, by his courage 
and energy, restored his lines and changed the rout into a Union vic- 
tory. 

4. This campaign, in the Shenandoah, which had been the scene 
of almost constant warfare, was one of the most brilliant of the war. 

i. Up from the South at break of day. 
Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay, 
The affrighted air with a shudder bore, 
Like a herald in haste, to the chieftain's door, 
The terrible grumble and rumble and roar, 
Telling the battle was on once more, 
And Sheridan — twenty miles away. 

2. And wider still those billows of war 
Thundered along the horizon's bar, 
And louder yet into Winchester rolled 
The roar of that red sea uncontrolled, 
Making the blood of the listener cold 

As he thought of the stake in that fiery fray, 
And Sheridan — twenty miles away. 

3. But there is a road from Winchester town, 
A good, broad highway leading down ; 

And there, through the flush of the morning light, 
A steed, as black as the steeds of night, 

l. WINCHESTER: * n the Shenandoah Valley and 13 miles from vSheridan's 
army 



f 3 2 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Was seen to pass as with eagle flight — 
As if he knew the terrible need, 
He stretched away with the utmost speed ; 
Hills rose and fell — but his heart was gay, 
With Sheridan fifteen miles away. 

4. Still sprung from those swift hoofs, thundering 

South, 
The dust, like the smoke from the cannon's mouth, 
Or the trail of a comet sweeping faster and faster, 
Foreboding to foemen the doom of disaster ; 
The heart of the steed and the heart of the master 
Were beating like prisoners assaulting their walls, 
Impatient to be where the battle-field calls ; 
Every nerve of the charger was strained to full 

play — 
With Sheridan only ten miles away. 

5. Under his spurning feet, the road 
Like an arrowy Alpine river flowed, 
And the landscape sped away behind 
Like an ocean flying before the wind ; 

And the steed, like a bark fed with furnace ire, 
Swept on, with his wild eyes full of fire. 
But, lo! he is nearing his heart's desire ; 
He is snuffing the smoke of the roaring fray, 
With Sheridan only five miles away. 

6. The first that the General saw were the groups 
Of stragglers, and then the retreating troops ; — 
What was done? what to do? a glance told him both. 
Then striking his spurs with a terrible oath, 

He dashed down the line 'mid a storm of huzzas, 
And the wave of retreat checked its course there, 

because 
The sight of the master compelled it to pause. 
With foam and with dust the black charger was gray ; 
By the flash of his eye and the red nostril's play 



SHERIDAN'S RIDE. 



133 



He seemed to the whole great army to say, 
"I have brought you Sheridan all the way 
From Winchester down to save the day! " 




This cut, "Sheridan's Ride," is inserted in this volume through the courtesy of 
Major Frank A. Butts, of Washington, D. C. It was made from an actual photo- 
graph of Sheridan, and is considered a perfect likeness. The hat in the picture 
is the identical one worn by Sheridan at the time of his famous ride. The cut 
was drawn by George X,. Coffin, of Washington, D. C, and engraved by John H. 
E). Whitney, of New York. 

Major Butts served during the late war, and was an officer on the staff of Major 
General Penny packer, who is one of Pennsylvania's most gallant soidiers. 

General Pennypacker received the Medal of Honor awarded by the Secretary of 
War, for bravery in the battle of Fort Fisher, N. C, January i5tn, 1865. ''Not 
Ney, himself, could have surpassed the valor with which General Pennypacker 
led his brigade into the fort." He was seriously wounded while planting the 
colors of his regiment on the third traverse of the works. 

^. Hurrah! hurrah for Sheridan! 

Hurrah! hurrah for horse and man! 
And when their statues are placed on high, 
Under the dome of the Union sky, 
The American soldiers' Temple of Fame, 



134 FLASH-LIGHTS OX AMERICAN HISTOKY. 

• 

There, with the glorious General's name, 
Be it said, in letters both bold and bright: 
u Here is the steed that saved the day 
By carrying Sheridan into the fight, 
From Winchester — twenty miles away! " 

— Thomas Buchanan Bred. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate Monocacy river. Potomac river. 

Write a short biography of Sheridan. 

Explain the word "cavalry''; the word "magnetism, 

What is a campaign ? Name several. 

Learn and recite the poem. 



LESSON XXXIX, 



SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA. 

i. While General Grant's army was crossing the Rapidan, May 4th, 
1S64, he sat down on a log by the roadside, and penciled a telegram to 
General Sherman at Chattanooga, to move his army toward Atlanta, — 
one hundred miles away, and to fight and keep moving on regardless 
of seasons or weather. His route lay through a mountain country, 
where the Confederates 1 had a strong line of works, consisting of 
rifle-pits, intrenchments and fortifications, all of which made Sher- 
man's advance very slow. 

2. General Joseph E. Johnston, tne Confederate commander, was 
at Dal ton, and disputed his advance in a masterly manner, for as soon 
as his successive positions were in danger, he would skillfully retire 
to another pass in the mountain which was strongly fortified. Sher- 
man was unable to gain any positive advantage, as Johnston was too 
vshrewd to fight in the open field and avoided pitched battles. Thus 
for weeks, (during most of the time rain poured incessantly) Generals 
Sherman and Johnston, both masters of strategy, wrestled with each 
other among the mountains of Northern Georgia. 

3. Railroads were torn up, bridges burned to impede Snerman's 
onward movements, and yet his men rebuilt them so rapidly, that the 

I. CONFEDERATES: Name applied to soldiers in the Southern armies dur- 
ing the Civil War. 



SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA. i 35 

* 'whistle of the locomotive was always following close on the heels of 
Johnston's soldiers." "On to Atlanta," was the watchword, and by 
a series of skillful flank-movements, which Sherman called "Our 
gigantic skirmish," he got near the city, but found it strongly forti- 
fied. He filled his wagons with fifteen days' rations, and shifted his 
whole army until he struck the Confederate line of supplies to the city, 
and thus by cutting off the supply of food and ammunition, he might 
force the enemy to evacuate the city. 

4. Being out-generaled in this way, Hood 1 who was then in chief 
command of the Confederates, and who had been defeated three times 
in nine days, destroyed what he could of the mills, foundries, ma- 
chine shops, etc. , and left the city. Sherman entered the city Sep- 
tember 2nd, and telegraphed the authorities at Washington, ' 'Atlanta 
is ours, and fairly won." After resting his soldiers for a couple of 
months, Sherman, who was as "brave as a lion and as wise as a ser- 
pent," resolved to "March to the Sea." It was one of the boldest 
military movements on record. 

5. Before starting Sherman destroyed Atlanta, which covered 200 
acres, sparing only churches and dwelling houses. About the middle 
of November, Sherman sent to General Thomas, at Nashville, a tele- 
gram, ' 'All is well, ' ' then cut the telegraph lines which connected him 
with the North, so that he could not be called back, and was lost from 
sight until just before Christmas. Thus ' 'detached from all friends, 
and dependent upon his own resources," his army set out on that 
grand march to the seashore, — three hundred miles away. For five 
weeks the North knew nothing of Sherman, but the people of the 
South knew where he was, for in his march, his army and a host of 
slaves who seized the opportunity to gain their freedom, had left a 
broad path of desolation. 

6. On starting from Atlanta with 60,000 soldiers, Sherman had 

ordered, ' 'Take only twenty days' provisions and find the rest of your 

living in the country through which you pass." The country had 

never before been visited by a hostile army. The path of the Union 

army was over the most fertile part, and embraced a swath sixty miles 

wide through the heart of the Confederacy. 

"So we made a thoroughfare, for Freedom and her train, 
Sixty miles in latitude, three hundred to the main." 

7. The Union army destroyed railroads, burning the ties, heating 

the rails and twisting them around trees to make them utterly useless; 

\. HOOD ! General Hood was appointed by Jefferson Davis, to succeed General 
Joseph E. Johnston, whose policy of avoiding pitched battles with Sher- 
man dissatisfied the President of the Southern States. 



136 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

villages and farm houses were burned; the country was foraged for 
hay, pigs, cattle, chickens, — whatever could be used by a man or 
horse. Just before Christmas, Sherman marched into Savannah and 
hoisted the "Stars and Stripes." He telegraphed to Lincoln, "I beg 
to present to you, as a Christmas present, the city of Savannah, with 
150 guns, plenty of ammunition, and 25,000 bales of cotton." 

i. Our camp-fire shone bright in the mountains 

That frown'd on the river below, 
While we stood by our guns in the morning 

And eagerly watch' d for the foe, 
When a rider came out from the darkness, 

That hung over mountain and tree, 
And shouted "Boys, up and be ready, 

For Sherman will march to the sea."* 

2. Then cheer upon cheer, for bold Sherman 

Went up from each valley and glen, 
And the bugles re-echoed the music 

That came from the lips of the men ; 
For we knew that the stars on our banner 

More bright in their splendor would be, 
And that blessings from Northland would greet us 

When Sherman marched down to the sea. 

3. Then forward, boys, forward to battle 

We marched on our wearisome way, 
And we storm'd the wild hills of Resacca 

God bless those who fell on that dav: 
Then Kennesaw, 1 dark in its glory, 

Frowned down on the flag of the free ; 

But the East and the West bore our standards, 
And Sherman marched on to the sea.. 

I. KENNESAW : A mountain in Georgia. 

*"\Vords a.id music of this song mailed postpaid for 40 cents by Oliver Diston 
Company, Boston, Mass., owners of the copyright." 



SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA. 137 

Still onward we pressed, till our banner 

Swept out from Atlanta's grim walls, 
And the blood of the patriot dampened 

The soil where the traitor flag falls ; 
But we paused not to weep for the fallen, 

Who slept by each river and tree, 
Vet we twined them a wreath of the laurel 

As Sherman marched down to the sea. 

O, proud was our army that morning, 

That stood where the pine proudly towers, 
When Sherman said, u Boys, you are weary ; 

This day fair Savannah is ours! " 
Then sang we a song for our chieftain. 

That echoed o'er river and lea, 
And the stars in our banner shone brighter 

When Sherman marched down to the sea. 

RECREATIONS. 

Locate Chattanooga; Atlanta; Dalton; Savannah. 
Who was Sherman ? Johnston ? Hood ? Thomas ? 
What is meant by ammnnition ? strategy ? foraged ? evacu- 
ate ? "skirmish"? rations? 
What telegrams were sent by Sherman ? 
Describe Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea. 
Learn the song "Marching through Georgia." 
What Christmas present did Sherman make to Lincoln ? 



LESSON XL. 



ROLL CALL. 

1. In the midst of a battle, when shrieking shells are flying 
through the air on wings of destruction, bursting above and under 
men; when bugles are blowing, drums beating and bands playing; 



i 3 S FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

when the batteries are opened, and living sheets of fire send solid 
shot crashing through the ranks; when the rattle of musketry and 
the whistle of bullets, fill the soldiers with inexpressible emotions — 
no one has a thought of the great number of soldiers that are falling 
on all sides. They only have indefinite recollections that they have 
heard the shouts of commanders, the wild neighing of frightened 
horses and the moans of wounded comrades. In the excitement of 
battle, men press forward until the terrific roar of battle runs from 
centre to flank and from wing to wing. 

2. After the first onslaught, soldiers have no fear, .or they are not 
themselves; however timid they have been in marching to battle, 
when it once opens all fear leaves them, and they are filled with a 
desire to defeat the opposing enemy. This is the experience of a 
Napoleon, a Washington, and it is the experience of many thousands 
of brave men who have passed through more than one bloody battle. 

3. When the cannon cease to roar, and the wounded are borne 
from the field; when the commanders gather together the fragments 
of their regiments to ascertain the loss of men; when the shades of 
night hover over the scenes of destruction and death, — there is indeed 
an hour of supreme feeling. Men who have marched shoulder to 
shoulder, and fought side by side, are comrades no more forever. As 
the officer calls the roll of his men, only an occasional one answers to 
his name. The deep silence which follows the reading of many 
names, tells stories of intermingled bravery and sadness. 

i. " Corporal Green! " the Orderly cried; 

"Here! " was the answer, loud and clear, 
From the lips of the soldier who stood near — 
And "Here! " was the word the next replied. 

2. "Cyrus Drew! " — then a silence fell — 

This time no answer followed the call ; 
Only his rear-man had seen him fall, 
Killed or wounded, he could not tell. 

3. There they stood in the failing light, 

These men of battle, with grave, dark looks, 
As plain to be read as open books, 
While slowly gathered the shades of night. 



BOLL CALL. 139 

4. The fern on the hill-sides was splasned witn blood, 

And down in the corn where the poppies grew 
Were redder stains than the poppies knew ; 
And crimson-dyed was the river's flood. 

5. For the foe had crossed from the other side 

That day, in the face of a murderous fire 
That swept them down in its terrible ire — 
And their life-blood went to color the tide. 

6. u Herbert Kline! " At the call there came 

Two stalwart soldiers into the line, 
Bearing between them this Herbert Kline, 
Wounded and bleeding, to answer his name. 

7. u Ezra Kerr! " — and a voice answered, "Here! " 

u Hiram Kerr! " — but no man replied. 
They were brothers, these two; the sad winds 
sighed, 
x\nd a shudder crept through the corn-field near. 

• 

8. u Ephraim Deane! " — then a soldier spoke: 

"Deane carried our regiment's colors," he said ; 
"Where our ensign was shot I left him dead, 
Just after the enemy wavered and broke. 

q. Close to the road-side his body lies , 

I paused a moment and gave him drink ; 
He murmured his mother's name, I think, 
x\nd death came with it and closed his eyes." 

10. 'Twas a victory ; yes, but it cost us dear — 

For that company's roll, when called at night, 



i 4 o FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HIS TOBY. 

Of a hundred men who went into the fight, 
Numbered but twenty that answered '-Here! " 

— N G. Shepherd. 

RECREATIONS. 

What is meant by a battery ? By musketry ? 

What is meant by comrades ? 

Describe a roll-call in the army. 

Who is the ■ 'orderly"? 

How many men in a company ? 



LESSON XLL 



THE GRAND REVIEW. 

i. Great anxiety was felt at the close of the Civil War, lest the dis- 
banding of the large armies, which were used to the rough disorder of 
camp life, might endanger the security of the country. Other nations 
had predicted that such a vast army could not be disbanded peace- 
fully, and yet within six months after the last battle of the war was 
fought, all who had been engaged in warfare had returned home, and 
there was nothing to distinguish the soldier from the citizen except 
the recollection of brave deeds. This final triumph of law and order 
1 'proved our republic the most stable government in the world." 

2. Before the great army of the North melted away into the peace- 
ful ranks of life, the soldiers were ordered to pass in review before 
General Grant and President Johnson who stood in front of the Exec- 
utive Mansion. 1 For the first time since the opening of the war, the 
armies of the East and the armies of the West were united. 

3. During the greater part of two days (May 23, 24, 1865), the 
armies 200,000 strong, massed in solid columns twenty men deep and 
thirty miles in length, starting from the shadow of the dome of the 
Capitol, 2 marched through the broad avenues of the city. The Capi- 
tal 3 resounded with martial music and the steady tramp of the long 

[ a EXECUTIVE MANSION: The President's residence in Washington, D. C. 

2 s " CAPITOL! The building occupied by Congress and the Supreme Court. It 
is probably the most magnificent and imposing building in the world. It 
is 751 feet long, 324 feet in depth, covers 3^ acres of ground and has cost 
more than $13,000,000. The dome of the Capitol is 307 feet high and 135 
feet in diameter. 

3 CAPITAL: Washington City, the seat of government of the United States. 
It is situated on the left bank of the Potomac River and covers 9J4 square 
miles. 



TEE GRAND BE VIEW. , 4I 

columns of sunburnt veterans bearing their glittering muskets and 
tattered battle flags. It was not merely a holiday parade, it was an 
army of citizens on their way home after a long and terrible war. 
Their clothes were worn and pierced with bullets; their banners had 
been torn with shot and shell and lashed in the winds of a hundred 
battles; the very drums which they played as each battalion passed 
the President had, through four long years of strife, sounded the 
reveille 1 and tattoo, 2 and called the troops to many a hard fought 
battle. 

4. No such spectacle had ever been seen in America. But grand 
as was this display, a nobler triumph was to follow — the fact that in 
the course of a few weeks, all these men with many thousands more 
would lay down their arms and gladly and quietly return to their 



nomes, 



] . I read last night of the Grand Review 
In Washington's chiefest avenue — 
Two hundred thousand inen in blue, 

I think they said was the number — 
Till I seemed to hear their tramping feet, 
The bugle blast and the drum's quick beat, 
The clatter of hoofs in the stony street, 
The cheers of people who came to greet, 
And the thousand details that to repeat 

Would only my verse encumber — 
Till I fell in a re very, sad and sweet. 

And then to a fitful slumber. 

2. When, lo ! in a vision I seemed to stand 
In the lonely Capitol. On each hand 
Far stretched the portico ; dim and grand 
Its columns ranged, like a martial band 
Of sheeted specters whom some command 

I. REVEILLE: The beat of drum about break of day to arouse the soldiers 

after which sentries do not challenge. 
1. TATTOO : A beat of drum at night, giving notice to soldiers to repair to their 

quarters or tents. 



i 4 2 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Had called to a last reviewing. 
And the streets of the city were white and bare, 
No footfall echoed across the square ; 
But out of the misty midnight air 
I heard in the distance a trumpet blare, 
And the wandering night winds seemed to bear 

The sound of a far tattooing. 

2. Then I held my breath with fear and dread ; 
For into the square with a brazen tread, 
There rode a figure whose stately head 

O'erlooked the review that morning, 
That never bowed from its firm-set seat 
When the living column passed its feet, 
Yet now rode steadily up the street 

To the phantom bugle's warning. 

4. Till it reached the Capitol square, and wheeled, 
And there in the moonlight stood revealed 

A well-known form that in state and field 

Had led our patriot sires ; 
Whose face was turned to the sleeping camp, 
Afar through the river's fog and damp, 
That showed no flicker nor waning lamp, 

Nor wasted bivouac fires. 

5. And I saw a phantom army come, 
With never a sound of fife or drum, 
But keeping time to a throbbing hum 

Of wailing and lamentation ; 
The martyred heroes of Malvern Hill, 
Of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville, 



TEE GRAND REVIEW. I43 

The men whose wasted figures fill 
The patriot graves of the nation. 

6. And there came the nameless dead — the men 
Who perished in fever swamp and fen, 

The slowly starved of the prison pen, 

And, marching beside the others, 
Came the dusky martyrs of Pillow's fight, 
With limbs enfranchised and bearing bright ; 
I thought — perhaps 'twas the pale moonlight * 

They looked as white as their brothers ! 

7. And so all night marched the nation's dead, 
With never a banner above them spread 
Nor a badge, nor a motto brandished ; 

No mark — save the bare uncovered head 

Of the silent bronze reviewer ; 
With never an arch save the vaulted sky ; 
With never a flower save those that lie 
On the distant graves — for love could buy 

No gift that was purer or truer. 

8. So all night long swept the strange array ; 
So all night long ; till the morning gray, 
I watched for one who had passed away. 

With a reverent awe and wonder — 
Till a blue cap waved in the lengthening line, 
And I knew that one who was kin of mine 
Had come ; and I spake — and lo ! that sign 

Awakened me from my slumber. 

— Bret ffarte. 



144 FLASH-LIGHTS OK AMERICAN HISTORY. 

LESSON XLII 



HOW CYRUS LAID THE CABLE. 

I. The echoes of the last Union victory of the Civil War had 
scarcely died away, when a great victory of peace in the line of 
science was achieved. Samuel B. Morse, w T ho invented the telegraph, 
had predicted in 1843, ' 'that a telegraph line would connect Europe 
and America, and that messages would be sent across the sea by 
electricity. " Many people could not believe that such a wonder- 
ful step in the communication among men could be taken, but Cyrus 
W. Field, 1 of New York, believed such could be done and spent years 
hi costly experiments. 

2. The first attempt at laying an Atlantic Cable was made in 1S57. 
It was a failure. A second attempt was made the next year and was 
successful. The first message sent over the wire was "A treaty of 
peace has been signed between Austria and Prussia. ' ' A message was 
sent by Queen Victoria to President Buchanan and a reply transmit- 
ted. Four hundred messages were sent across the ocean. 

3. A celebration was held in New York city in honor of the event, 
but on that day, September 1, 1858, the cable ceased to work. People 
thought the enterprise a complete failure. Mr. Field, however, was 
not dismayed; his untiring energy knew no rest, and after crossing 
the Atlantic more than fifty times, he succeeded in inroarting some of 
his courage into both English and Americans. 

4. In 1865, he began laying the third cable across the Atlantic 
Twelve hundred miles of it had been successfully laid when a sudden 
lurch of the ship snapped the cable, and it sank to the bottom of the 
ocean. The sea was dragged for days, but the broken line could not 
be found. 

5. In June, 1866, the Great Eastern, 2 the largest ship that had 
ever been built, sailed from England, carrying a much stronger cable 
than any that had been made before. It was safely stretched from 
Valentia Bay, Ireland, to Hearts' Content, Newfoundland, a distance 
of 1,864 miles. It rested upon the submarine plateaus between Europe 

'. CYRUS W. FIELD : At a banquet given to celebrate the arrival of the first 
cable message, Mr. Field said, "Maury furnished the brains, England 
gave the money and I did the work". It was Maury who discovered the 
plateau in the ocean bed, between Newfoundland and Ireland, upon 
which the cable was laid. 
2. GREAT EASTERN: longest vessel ever built, intended to carry 1,000 pas- 
sengers and 15,000 tons of coal for fuel, launched in 1857 and cost $300,000. 



HOW CYRUS LAID THE CABLE. 145 

and America. On June 27, 1866, instantaneous communication was 
established between the Old world and the New. 

6. Among the messages sent was one from Cyrus W. Field to Pres- 
ident Johnson, saying, "I hope that it will prove a blessing to Eng- 
land and United States, and increase the intercourse between our 
country and the Eastern Hemisphere. ' ' 

7. To make the triumph still more complete, the Great Eastern 
returned to the very spot in mid-ocean where the former cable had 
broken, or parted, and by the aid of grappling hooks, after one 
month's labor, caught the lost cable in two miles of water and brought 
it to the surface. 1 It was joined to another cable on board the vessel 
and carried to the American shore, thus making the second cable con- 
necting the continents. 

8. By the aid of these cables and others since laid, events occur- 
ring in Europe are known in America the same day. The news 
which appears in the London dailies, appears also in the morning 
papers in the United States, and people are enabled to know daily 
what is going on in the civilized world. 

[Reprinted by permission from 'Harper's Weekly".] 

1. Come, listen all unto mv song ; 

It is no silly fable ; 
5 Tis all about the mighty cord 
Thev call the Atlantic cable. 

2. Bold Cyrus Field, he said, says he, 

"I have a pretty notion, 
That I can run a telegraph 
Across the Atlantic ocean." 

3. Then all the people laughed, ana said 

They'd like to see him do it ; 
He might get half seas oyer, but 
He never could go through it. 

4. To carry out his foolish plan 

He never would be able ; 

I. The grappling hooks were sunken 30 times into the water two and one-half 
miles deep before the cable was caught. 



146 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

He might as well go hang himself 
With his Atlantic cable. 



5. ^>ut Cyrus was a valiant man, 

A fellow of decision ; 
And heeded not their mocking words, 
Their laughter and derision. 

6. Twice did his bravest efforts fail, 

And yet his mind was stable ; 
He wa'n't the man to break his heart 
Because he broke his cable. 

7. u Once more, my gallant boys! " he cried ; 

"Three times! — you know the fable" — 
("I'll make it thirty," muttered he, 
"But I will lay the cable.") 

8. Once more they tried — hurrah! hurrah! 

What means this great commotion ? 
The Lord be praised! The cable's laid 
Across the Atlantic ocean! 

9. Loud ring the bells — for, flashing through 

Six hundred leagues of water, 
Old Mother England's benison 1 
Salutes her eldest daughter. 

ic. O'er all the land the tidings speed, 
And soon in every nation, 
They'll hear about the cable with 
Profoundest admiration. 

I. BENISON : A blessing; a benediction. 



HGW GYRUS LAID THE CABLE, 147 

11. Now long live James, and long live Vic, 1 

And long live gallant Cyrus ; 
And may his courage, faith and zeal 
With emulation fire us. 

12. And may we honor evermore 

The manly, bold and stable, 
And tell our sons, to make them brave, 
How Cyrus laid the cable. 

RECREATIONS. 

Tell something of Samuel B. Morse; Cyrus W. Field. 

Locate Valentia Bay; Heart's Content. 

Quote some of the messages sent across the ocean. 

How many attempts were made to lay a telegraph line across 

the Atlantic ? 
How was the one which broke in mid-ocean afterwards secured ? 
Upon what do submarine cables rest ? 
Of what great benefit are the Atlantic cables ? 
How many cables now span the Atlantic ocean ? 



LESSON XLIIL 



OUR SAINTED POET— WHITTIER. 

1. John Greenleaf Whittier, a descendant of the Puritans, was 
born at Haverhill, Mass., December 17, 1807. His parents belonged 
to the Society of Friends 2 and he was brought up strictly in accord- 
ance with their belief. His birthplace was an old fashioned New 
England farm-house, plain and bare. In front of it stood two poplar 
trees, and across the grassy country road was the barn. Not far 
away stood the little red school house where he received the greater 
part of his education, and which he speaks about in his writings: 

I V'C. Queen Victoria. 

2_ FRIENDS: Sometimes called Quakers. William Penn was 1 prominent 
Friend, or Quaker. 



148 FLASH-LIQHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

"Still sits the school house by the road 

A ragged beggar sunning ; 
Around it still the sumachs grow 

And blackberry-vines are running. 

2. Whittier spent two years at the Haverhill Academy, where he 
acquired a love for the study of literature, and from reading Burns' 
poems he developed a taste for writing verses. His father wanted 
him to be a farmer and did not like to have him spend his time in 
thus w T riting poetry. His sister Elizabeth was the only one in the 
family who seemed to appreciate his efforts, and when he w T as nine- 
teen she persuaded him to send one of his poems to William L,loyd 
Garrison, 1 editor of the - 'Free Press" at Newbury. The one by whom 
he sent the poem, slipped the manuscript under the door of Mr. Gar- 
rison's office, where it was found, and the editor was so well pleased 
with the poem that he rode over to Whittier' s farm to see the young 
poet and urge him to devote his time to literary work. 

3. The poems of Whittier have been inspired by current events, 
and their patriotic spirit gives them a strong hold upon the public. 
He was an earnest opposer of slavery, and some of his poems bearing 
on that subject are fiery and bitter, yet clothed in gentle and pathetic 
words. 

4. "Snow-Bound," 2 his greatest poem, in which a beautiful winter 
scene of his country home is pictured, is one of the sweetest idyls in 
our language. Whittier loved his home so much that he never visited 
a foreign country, and traveled but little in his own. He never mar- 
ried. Modest and retiring in disposition, he never cared for notoriety. 
He was surprised that people would spend so much time reading and 
memorizing his poems which he said he could not remember. Once 
he went to hear a noted orator. The speaker ended with a poetical 
quotation; Whittier applauded with the others. Some one touched 
him on the arm and asked, "Do you know who wrote that poem?'' 
' 'No, ' ' said Whittier, ' 'but it's good. ' ' The poem was one of his own. 

5. In his declining years he lived at Amesbury, Mass., the object 
of much veneration, and respected by the thousands who had read and 
admired his beautiful writings. 

i. Baptized with holy memories sweet, 
Our hearts recall his days so dear ; 
The skylark voice from out the wheat, 
Within the blue does disappear, 

I. LLOYD GARRISON ! The great advocate of freeing the slaves. 
2. Read this poem. 



OUR SAINTED POET—WHITTIEH. 149 

And yet, as Shelley heard of old, 

We hear the music far above, 
It mingles with the harps of gold, 

It sings the song of endless love ! 

2. For all the years of manhood won, 

His voice for man was ever heard : 
Clear shining as the rising sun 

Went forth his freedom-loving word ; 
His gentle soul in martial tones 

Arose to crush foul Slavery's wrong ; 
His dusky brothers' sighs and groans 

Wailed ghost-like in the house of song. 

3. Religion, clothed in truth and love, 

Walked by his side from morn to eve ; 
The tender presence of the dove, 

In him we ever could perceive ; 
Still with his kind, like Burns of old, 

The people knew him as their friend, 
Their round of toil in poesy told, 

Like sky and landscape softly blend ! 

4. His eye was keen to see the true, 

His soul aflame to give it voice ; 
The flowers of faith in beauty grew 

Fed by his language sweet and choice ; 
True youth was his, untouched by years ; 

Like Enoch, he life's way has trod ; 
He walked the vale of Smiles and Tears, 

The friend of man, the friend of God ! 



i 5 o FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

5. The prophets thus in Israel dwelt, 

With souls all white as lilies fair, 
And at high Nature's altar knelt, 

Subdued to service, praise and prayer : 
So life becomes cathedral great, 

All hearts the servants of the King ; 
In common tasks on Him we wait, 

The Quaker bard would bravely sing ! 

6. Ah ! grand as mountains in their might 

I see him like Elijah stand, 
The still small voice, the voice of Light, 

With Him at last has full command ; 
Like birds at morn or rills at noon, 

Like music sweetly heard afar, 
His poetry ran in pleasant tune, 

It tipped the flower, it sought the star ! 

7. Delightful was the twilight hour, 

When he aside his tasks could lay, 
And from affection's peaceful bower 

Look out upon the parting day ; 
Love's glory smiled on field and wood, 

Hope's silver ray was in the sky, 
He sensed all things in God were good, 

Faith said, the soul can never die ! 

8. Snow-bound at birth by winter wild, 

Snow-bound at death we seem to be, 
But he with trust of loving child, 

Believed in God's eternity : 
Fair flowers long bestrewed his way, 



OUR SAINTED POET—WHITTIER. 151 

While angels waited at his side ; 
Now in Heaven's everlasting day, 
His life and Song are glorified. 

— Good Housekeeping. 

RECREATIONS. 

When and where was Whittier born ? Describe his old home. 
Where was he educated ? Tell about his first writings. 
Name a number of his poems. Give some quotations. 
How was his love for home shown ? 
What is the date of his death ? 



LESSON XLIV. 



MEMORIAL DAY. 

1. To the South 1 belongs the credit of having established one of 
the most touching customs that has ever arisen out of a war; namely, 
that of decorating soldiers' graves. During the time the war lasted, 
the people of the South suffered bitterly, and thousands of her bravest 
men and most promising youths fell in battle or died in prisons. "It 
was a long night, in which the death angel flew over the land and 
when at last dawn appeared, it was found he had touched the first 
born of nearly every household in the land." 

2. The brave men of the South, however, left behind them wives, 
mothers and sisters whose devotion was imperishable. These devoted 
women, in order to show that they cherished the memory of loved 
ones, established the custom of strewing flowers on the graves of their 
dead sons and heroes, and since the war, have devoted one day of 
each year to honoring their dead by placing chaplets of laurel and 
flowers on their graves. It was natural that such a strife between the 
North and South would leave some bitterness, and yet never in the 
history of the world were hostilities so amicably settled and the lines 
of enmity so completely eradicated. The conflict included mighty 
issues, but being ended, both sections taught by word and deed "with 
malice toward none and charity for all. ' ' 

3. And when Johnston 2 and Buckner 3 walked arm in arm with 
Sherman 4 and Sheridan, 5 as pall-bearers at the funeral of Grant, they 

I SOUTH : The southern portion of United States. 

2' General Joseph E. Johnston 1 a noted confederate officer. 

3*. It was General Buckner who surrendered Fort Donelson and 15,000 men to 
Grant in 1862. 

4. WILLIAM TECUM c EH SHEPMAN: Who made the & -eat "March to the 

Sea". He was General of the army after Grant resigned. 

5. PHILIP HENRY SHEPIDAN: Distinguished cavalry officer. Promoted to 

General before he died in 1888. 



i 5 2 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

"reflected the grander heroism of peace," which only the soldiers of 
America can portray. "When the Southern women, after sorrowfully 
decorating the graves of their own soldiers, passed to those of the 
Union dead and placed flowers upon their graves, they exemplified 
that maternal affection which is grander and more lasting than patri- 
otism." 

4. In each glorious springtime throughout our land, North and 
South, loving hearts come with willing hands to strew sweet flowers 
above the dust of heroes, — some who sleep in gray and some in blue, 
— but all Americans. This is not a tribute to the glories of warfare, 
but shows that revenge has fled from the presence of the lily, and the 
sweet perfume of the rose stifled all hatred. As the garlands are laid 
on the grassy mounds, they teach us lessons of faith and hope and 
charity, and fraternity, for the Eternal through His messengers of 
purity and fragrance proclaims the loveliness of a universal brother- 
hood. 

i. By the flow of the inland river, 

Whence the fleets of iron have fled, 
Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, 
Asleep are the ranks of the dead, — 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day : 
Under the laurel, the Blue ; 
Under the willow, the Gray. 

2. These, in the robings of glory ; 

Those, in the gloom of defeat ; 
All, with the battle-blood gory, 
In the dusk of eternity meet, — 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day : 
Under the one, the Blue ; 
Under the other, the Gray. 

3. From the silence of sorrowful hours, 

The desolate mourners go, 



MEMORIAL DAY. 153 

Lovingly laden with flowers, 

Alike for the friend and the foe, — 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day : 
Under the roses, the Blue ; 
Under the lilies, the Gray. 

So, with an equal splendor, 

The morning sun-rays fall, 
With a touch impartially tender, 

On the blossoms blooming for all, — 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day : 
Broidered with gold, the Blue ; 
Mellowed with gold, the Gray. 

So, when the summer calleth, 
On forest and field of grain, 
With an equal murmur f alleth 
The cooling drip of the rain, — 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day : 
Wet with the rain, the Blue ; 
Wet with the rain, the Gray. 

Sadly, but not with upbraiding, 
The generous deed was done ; 
In the storm of the years that are fading 
No braver battle was won, — 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day : 
Under the blossoms, the Blue ; 
Under the garlands, the Gray. 



154 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

7. No more shall the war-cry sever, 
Or the winding rivers be red ; 
They banish our anger forever, 

When they laurel the graves of our dead, — 
Under the sod and the dew, 

Waiting the judgment day : 
Love and tears, for the Blue ; 
Tears and love, for the Gray. 

—Francis M. Finch. 

RECREATIONS. 

What is meant by Memorial Day ? 

Who established the custom in this country ? 

Tell about the women of the South. 

Name some of the prominent Generals in the Civil War 

Who wrote the "Blue and the Gray" ? 

Learn to recite the poem. 



LESSON XLV. 



DECORATION DAY. 

1. Once each year the busy wheels of American industry stand 
still, that a great nation may walk among its graves and place upon 
them its choicest garlands, and speak words of praise of the departed. 
The graves of soldiers form a chain across this continent from ocean 
to ocean, and the monuments erected over them are the milestones 
in American history. 

2. Decoration Day, the day on which we pay a beautiful festal 
tribute to the dead, was inaugurated while General John A. Logan 1 
was Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. He 
thought the old custom practiced so faithfully by the Greeks of plac- 
ing flowers on the graves of heroes, a beautiful, tender and patriotic 

I. GENERAL JOHN A. LOGAN: The foremost of volunteer Generals of the 
Civil War; fought in citizens clothes at battle of Bull Run; he. commanded 
one division of Grant's army in the attack on Vicksburg, and his column 
was the first to enter the city. He was the Republican nominee for Vice 
President in 1884. 



DECORATION DAY. I55 

one, and issued a general order recommending the observance of Mav 
30th, as the day to decorate the soldiers' graves. 

3. On this day the devoted service of the private soldier is brought 
from its forgotten tomb, and his brave deeds are spoken of by those 
who are heirs to the freedom for which he fought. It is right for us 
on that day to bear in mind the courage, struggle, trials and suffering 
requested from the people of this government to make it necessary 
to decorate the graves of dead heroes. The rush of men in business 
should never be such that they cannot pause to observe this day in a 
proper manner. The beautiful custom of strewing flowers on the 
graves of soldiers on Decoration Day, has grown until now not only 
those who were mustered in battle are honored, but the last resting 
place of all loved ones are remembered. 

4. The most pathetic recollection of May 30th, is of those who 
went out with firm courage and high hope to our country's battle- 
fields and of whom nothing was ever heard. "The cotton fields of 
South Carolina, the forests of Tennessee, and the valleys of Virginia 
are rich with their bones." They fell as the valiant fell and died as 
soldiers die. No hand of wife or mother or sister wiped away the 
dew of death, only the sky covered them. ' 'No one can go and point 
to their last resting places, only the sentinel stars and tall pines could 
make known the secrets of their nameless graves. ' ' 

How sleep the brave, who sink to rest 
By all their country's wishes blessed ! 
When Spring with dewy fingers cold, 
Returns to deck their hallowed mould, 
She there shall dress a sweeter sod 
Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. 

6. More than a third of a century has passed since the last shot 
was fired in the Civil War and peace restored. The last o- rea t scene 
of the war was at Appomattox, 1 where the great warrior of the South 
surrendered to the "Silent Soldier" of the North, both of whom now 
are numbered with the great army beyond the river The richest 
floral gems should be placed upon the brave, for in earth's flowers 
are reflected the immortal hues formed in the bow of promise and as 
we place beautiful flowers upon the sunless tents of the dead soldiers 
their token is that no more strife shall come to disturb our national 
peace. 

'' AP G?„ M e*Vu. X s : .Gin' t irginiaWhere ^"^ ***** * *"" s " rre »^ to 



156 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

i. Sound a mighty, long reveille ! 

Let the fife and throbbing drum 
Tell the world the marshaled heroes 

Of our grand Republic come ! 
Strike the notes of "Hail Columbia ! " 

Wake the music that of old 
Timed the tread of marching thousands 

Where the battle surges rolled ! 
Fling to Heaven our sacred banner, 

Wave it high o'er field and flood ; 
Torn by many a fiery conflict, 

Stained by many a hero's blood. 

2. Open wide the mouldy portals 1 

Where our mighty dead have slept ; 
Bid them break the voiceless slumber 

That the solemn years have kept. 
Roll the years that tell their glory 

Backward from the great unknown ; 
Gather them once more around us 

As when war's loud blast was blown. 
Once again the earth shall tremble 

'Neath the tread of million feet, 
While the nation's heart exulting 

Times them with its pulsing beat. 
Mirrored in the deep of Heaven 

See the spectral host sweep by ; 
Regiment, and flag and banner, 
All of war's proud panoply. 2 

3. They are coming ! coming ! coming ! 

How the music wakes and thrills ! 

I. PORTALS : Gates or ways of entrance or exit. 
2. PANOPLY : A full suit of defensive armor. 



BE COB A TION DA Y. 157 

All their mystic tents are gleaming 

White upon their country's hills 
They are coming ! coming ! coming ! 

East and West, and South and North ! 
l,o, from every wind of Heaven, 

They are thronging, hurrying forth ! 
They are coming ! coming ! coming ! 

Fathers, brothers, husbands, sons — 
And the rushing tide of memory 

Through the years still faster runs. 

4. From the gory field of conquest, 

From the rivers, crimson-dyed, 
They return, our deathless heroes, 

Sons of Freedom, glorified ! 
Bringing every tattered banner, 

Bearing every honored name, 
That for God, and Home, and Country 

Won an everlasting fame ! 
High among them stands the figure 

Of the Martyr, 1 calm and brave, 
Who in God's name and the Nation's 

Struck the shackles from the slave. 

5. Say not they are dead, forgotten, 

Voiceless, speechless, silent dust ; 
No man's dead, whose toil and heart-blood 

Speed a great God-given trust ! 
Dead, the millions upon millions 

Who from fleeting sun to sun, 

MARTYR : Abraham Lincoln, then President of the United States, was 
assassinated at Ford's Theatre, Washington, on the evening of April 14, 
1865, by John Wilkes Booth, an actor. 



15S FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Quaffed the brimming cups of pleasure 

Till their reckless years were run. 
Dead, the man who gathered riches, 

All his golden visions fled ; 
Dead, and monuments he builded, 

Crumbling dust upon his head ; 
Doubly dead and long forgotten, 

Dust on head and dust on heart, 
He who heard the call for battle — 

Heard, but played the craven's part. 

6. But of all we fondly cherish 

All the mighty martyr host, 
Not the lowliest life or humblest 

Ever was or will be lost ! 
Bow the knee — their graves are holy, 

Consecrated is this sod, 
Hallowed deep through all the ages 

In the sight of men and God ' 
Holy is the deathless freedom 

By their great devotion bought ; 
Graven deep, illumed by glory, 

Never shall they be forgot. 

— Byron W. King. 



LESSON XLVI 



THE SOUTHERN SOLDIER. 

i. Henry W. Grady, of Georgia, who died in 18S9, was an editoi 
and statesman, whose zeal and enthusiasm for the advancement of 
what is called the "New South", made his death an occasion of great 



THE SOUTHERN SOLDIER. i 59 

sorrow. Mr. Grady's father died when the boy was fourteen years 
old, leaving him to begin the battle of life alone; but early obstacles 
only served as a means of developing both heart and intellect. 

2. He early recognized that the greatest opportunities in all the 
world for usefulness are found in the press and the rostrum. His 
mental capacity was startling, and his writings were remarkable for 
strength and brilliancy as well as for patriotism and Christian soirit. 
As a speaker Mr. Grady was remarkable for great personal magnet- 
ism, and it was always employed for noble purposes. His facile and 
potent pen, his eloquent tongue, his magnificent soul were all em- 
ployed for the advancement of his country's best interests. 

3. Henry W. Grady did not echo public opinion, he made public 
opinion. His life demonstrated that it is possible to toil for princi- 
ples without expecting rewards. It has been said of Plato that his 
greatness was developed by the noble country in which he was born. 
So we find embodied in Mr. Grady much of the nobility, generosity, 
enthusiasm and zeal of the South which he so worthily represents. 

4. The bravest speech made for a quarter of a century was made 
by him in New York a few years ago. 1 It was a speech, "great for 
wisdom, great for kindness, great for pacification great for bravery", 
and deserves to be classed with Edmund Burke's speech on Warren 
Hastings 2 and Webster's speech at Bunker Hill. 

i. You of the North have had drawn for you with a 
master's hand the picture of your returning armies. 
You have heard how, in the pomp and circumstance of 
war, they came back to you, marching with proud and 
victorious tread, reading their glory in a nation's eyes. 
Will you bear with me while I tell you of another army 
that sought its home at the close of the late war — an 
army that marched home in defeat and not in victory, 
in pathos and not in splendor ? 

2. Let me picture to you the footsore Confederate 
soldier, as, buttoning up in his faded gray jacket, the 

I. The speech was made at a New England dinner given in New York City. 
2. WARREN HASTINGS was Governor-General of India. His administration 
was satisfactory, and he was received with great distinction by George 
III, and his court; but there were blemishes attached to it, and the Whig 
party secured his impeachment. The case was before th e courts seven 
years and Hastings was acquitted. 



160 FLA SH- LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HIS TOR Y. 

parole which was the testimony to his children of his 
fidelity and faith, he turned his face southward from 
Appomattox in April, 1865. Think of him as ragged, 
half-starved, heavy-hearted, enfeebled by want and 
wounds ; having fought to exhaustion, he surrenders 
his gun, wrings the hands of his comrades in silence, 
and lifting his tear-stained and pallid face for the last 
time to the graves that dot the old Virginia hills, pulls 
his gray cap over his brow and begins the slow and pain- 
ful journey. 

3. What does ne find — let me ask you, wno went to 
your homes eager to find in the welcome you had justly 
earned, full payment for four years sacrifice — what does 
he find when having followed the battle-stained cross 
against overwhelming odds, dreading death not half so 
much as surrender, he reaches the home he left so pros- 
perous and beautiful ? 

4. He finds his house in ruins, his farms devastated, 
his slaves free, his stock killed, his barns empty, his 
trade destroyed, his money worthless ; his social system, 
feudal in its magnificence, swept away ; his people with- 
out law or legal status, his comrades slain, and the bur- 
dens of others heavy on his shoulders. Crushed by 
defeat, his very traditions are gone ; without money, 
credit, employment, material, or training ; and beside 
all this, confronted with the gravest problem that 
ever met human intelligence — the establishing of a 
status for the vast body of his liberated slaves. 

5. What does he do — this hero in gray, with a heart 
of gold ? Does he sit down in sullenness and despair ? 
Not for a day. Surely God who had stripped him in 
his prosperity, inspired him in his adversity. As ruin 



THE SOUTHERN SOLDIER. 161 

was never so overwhelming, never was restoration 
swifter. The soldier stepped from the trenches into the 
furrow ; horses that had charged Federal guns marched 
before the plow, and fields that ran red with blood in 
April were green with the harvest in June. 

6. Never was nobler duty confided to human hands 
than the uplifting and upbuilding of the prostrate and 
bleeding South, misguided, perhaps, but beautiful in 
her suffering. In the record of her social, industrial, 
and political evolution, we await with confidence the 
verdict of the world. 

— Henry Grady. 

RECREATIONS. 

Tell something of Henry Grady's early years. 

Tell something of his zeal for the South. 

What was his life-work ? 

What does his life show ? 

In what way does he represent the South ? 

Tell about his great speech. 



LESSON XLVIL 



THE YOSEMITE. 1 

i. The Yosemite Valley is California's wonderland of nature. It 
is seven miles in length and its average width is one mile. It is 4,000 
feet above the sea level, and many of the mountain peaks which sur- 
round the valley rise in majestic grandeur to 3,000 feet at one leap. 
The Yosemite Valley was discovered in 185 1 by Major Savage while 
in pursuit of the Yo Semite Indians. The name of the region was 
previously known as the ' 'Vale of Mystery, ' ' but the Americans gave 
it the name of "Yosemite" from the tribe of Indians that inhabited it. 

2. In 1864, Congress granted this region, "for one mile back from 
the edge of the canon," to the State of California, to be maintained as 

I. YOSEMITE : An Indian word meaning "great grizzly bear." 



162 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMEBIC AN HIS TOBY. 

a National Park, and to be under the control of the Governor and 
eight commissioners appointed by him. Thus was secured to the 
State, as a park, one of the most beautiful spots in the world. 

3. The valley embraces 8,500 acres. The Rio Merced, receiving 
the waters of the Yosemite, Vernal, Nevada, Ribbon, Bridal Veil and 
other falls, threads its silvery way among time-worn rocks and bowl- 
ders, and between flowery banks of syringas and other brilliant plants, 
while over-arching the stream, the Balm of Gilead forms a bower of 
entrancing beauty. 

4. The Yosemite Falls in this valley are the grandest and most 
inspiring of all cataracts. The water plunges over a precipice 3,000 
feet above one's head, descending in three tremendous leaps to the 
valley below, "where the white spirit of the slain waters ascend in 
robes of mist, ' ' on which are formed ever-changing rainbows of color. 
The sporting wind drives the mist into fanciful shapes, and just below 
the crest of the falls, a dark mass of shadow forms the portrait of the 
Gnome of the Yosemite. 1 

5. The grandeur of the scenery' in this valley leads one to think 
that Omnipotence meant to crowd into as small a space as possible, 
some of the most stupendous scenery in the world. Here one may stand 
and gaze on the sublime beauty of nature's grandest mountain peaks, 
known as the "The Three Brothers," 2 "El Capitan," "The Senti- 
nel," 3 "Cathedral Spires," "Cap of Liberty" 4 and others, whose 
almost vertical walls of solid granite mount to a mile in height, and 
are so steep that foot of neither man nor beast has ever scaled them; 
he may behold nature's ancient trees whose foliage shaded the valley 
before the Caesars reigned; he may admire the beautiful falls as the 
water drops like a ' 'cluster of snowy meteors' ' from cliff to pool below. 

6. As man stands in the presence of such grandeur and sublimity, 
and hears the roaring cataracts, he exclaims with the poet: 

"Here speaks the voice of God 
And here his power is seen ; 
I,et man be dumb " 

i. Waiting to-night for the moon to rise 

O'er the cliffs that narrow Yosemite's skies ; 

I. GNOME '. An imaginary being supposed to guard mines, quarries, etc. 

2. THREE BROTHERS: Named after the three sons of Temeyah, an Indian 

chief, who were captured near the spot b} r Major Savage. 

3. THE SENTINEL ! A peak used by the Indians as a Signal Station. 

4 CAP OF LIBERTY : The shape of the peak is suggestive of the liberty Cap 
on some of our coins. 



THE YOSEMITE. 163 

Waiting for darkness to melt away 
In the silver light of a midnight day ; 
Waiting, like one in a waking dream, 
I stand alone by the rushing stream. 

Alone in a Temple vast and grand, 
With spire and turret on every hand ; 
A world's Cathedral, with walls sublime, 
Chiseled and carved by the hand of Time ; 
And over all Heaven's crowning dome, 
Whence gleam the beacon lights of home. 

The spectral shadows dissolve, and now 
The moonlight halos El Capitan's brow. 
And the lesser stars grow pale and dim 
Along the sheer-cut mountain rim ; 
And, touched with magic, the gray walls stand 
Like phantom mountains on either hand. 

Yet I know they are real, for I see the spray 
Of Yosemite Fall in the moonlight play. 
Swaying and trembling, a radiant glow 
From the sky above to the vale below ; 
Like the ladder of old to Jacob given, 
A line of light from earth to Heaven. 

And there comes to my soul a vision dear 
As of shining spirits hovering near ; 
And I feel the sweet and wondrous power 
Of a presence that fills the midnight hour ; 
And I know that Bethel is everwhere, 
For prayer is the foot of the angel stair. 



*4 FLASH-LIGHTS OX AMERICAN HIS TOBY. 

6. A light divine, a holy rest, 

Floods all the valley and fills my breast ; 

The very mountains are hushed in sleep 

From Eagle Point to Sentinel Keep ; 

And a life-long lesson is taught me to-night, 

When shrouded in shadow, to wait for the light. 

7. Waiting at dawn for the morn to break, 
By the crystal waters of Mirror Lake ; 
Waiting to see the mountains gray 
Clearly defined in the light of day, 
Reflected aud throned in glory here, 

A lakelet that seems but the valley's tear. 

8. Waiting, but look ! The South Dome bright 
Is floating now in sea of light ; 

And Cloud's Rest, --glistening with caps of snow, 
Inverted stands in the vale below, 
With tow'ring peaks and cliffs on high 
Hanging to meet another sky. 

9. O crystal gem in setting rare ! 

O soul-like mirror in middle air ! 
O forest heart of eternal love, 
Earth-born, but pure as Heaven above ! 
This Sabbath morn we find in thee 
The poet's dream of purity. 

10. The hours pass dv ; I am waiting now 
On Glacier Point's o'erhanging brow ; 
Waiting to see the picture pass, 
Like the fleeting show of a wizara-glass ; 



TEE YOSEMITE. 165 

Waiting, — and still the vision seems 
Woven of light and colored with dreams. 



11. But the cloud-capped towers, and pillars gray, 
Securely stand in the light of day ; 

The Temple wall is firm and sure, 
The worshipers pass, but it shall endure, 
And will while loud Yosemite calls 
To bright Nevada and Vernal Falls. 

12. O grand and majestic organ-choir 
With deep-toned voices that never tire ! 
O anthem written in notes that glow 
On the rainbow bars of Po-ho-no ! 

O sweet u Te Deum" forever sung, 

With spray, like incense, heavenward swung ! 

13. Thy music my soul with rapture thrills, 

And there comes to my lips, "the templed hills, 
Thy rocks and rills," — a nation's song, 
From valley to mountain borne along ; 
My country's Temple, built for thee ! 
Crowned with the Cap of Liberty ! 

14. O country reaching from shore to shore ! 
O fairest land the wide world o'er ! 
Columbia dear, whose mountains rise 
From fertile valleys to sunny skies, 
Stand firm and sure, and bold and free, 
As thy granite-walled Yosemite. 

— Wallace Bruce. 



166 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

RECREATIONS. 

Where is Yosemite ? For what noted ? 

Who discovered the beautiful region ? When ? 

What was it formerly called ? Why ? 

When was it made a National Park ? Give area. 

Name some of the falls. Some of the mountains. 

Describe Yosemite Falls. The Merced river. 

Explain "Gnome of the Yosemite." 



LESSON XLVIIL 



DAN PERITON'S RIDE. 

1. Among the many valleys in Pennsylvania noted for beauty of 
scenery, none is more picturesque than that of the Conemaugh, 1 
which winds its way between the lofty hills widening at one point to 
a mile, and narrowing at other places to half a mile. 

2. Johnstown, a city which will be famous forever as the scene of a 
most dreadful calamity, is located near the upper end of this valley. 
At the head of the valley, eighteen miles aboye Johnstown, was locat- 
ed the Conemaugh Lake reservoir, 2 owned by a hunting and fishing 
club of Pittsburg. It was formerly a feeder of the old Pennsylvania 
canal. It was about 275 feet above the level of Johnstown, lyi miles 
long and 1% miles wide and 100 feet deep, so that one could scarcely 
imagine the volume of water it contained. 

3. The dam which held back this prodigious Dulk of water was 
1,000 feet long, no feet high, and 90 feet thick at the base and 25 feet 
at the top, the latter being used as a road bed for driving. Such an 
immense structure one would suppose able to resist any strain that 
might be brought against it, and yet the people in the valley were 
often thrown into a panic during some excessive rainfalls for fear the 
dam might break and the floods sweep them away. For years the 
people in the towns on the banks of the Conemaugh lived in constant 
dread of the power that slept in that reservoir. 

I. CONEMAUGH: A river in western Pennsylvania, running through a 
mountainous country, unites with the L,oyalhanna, and beyond this point 
is called Kiskiminetas. 
2. RESERVOIR: A place where water is collected and kept for use; a cistern 
is a small reservoir. 



DAN PERITON'S RIDE. 167 

4. During the month of May, 1889, there had been violent and 
continued rains on the mountains, which swelled the waters in the 
reservoir until they began to pour over the dam. On May 31st a gang 
of men worked hard to ease the pressure, but the awful peril increased 
and the mighty mass of water gathered faster than they could open 
an escape for it, and it was evident that the walls would give way and 
let the great volume of water loose to deluge the valley below. 

5. So frequently had the people in the valley been warned of the 
danger of the lake bursting through the dam, that they had become 
accustomed to it. However, a goodly number of persons in Johns- 
town had left their homes and gone to the slopes with their families 
on May 31, 1889. Among others in the Conemaugh valley who fore- 
boded evil on this day, was a young man who was a book-keeper in 
his father's store. As he toiled over the columns of figures his atten- 
tion was several times called to the rising tide as it swept by the door. 
He owned a swift horse, and in the afternoon he mounted the animal 
and rode up the valley to see if there were any real danger of the dam 
breaking. 

6. As he approached the reservoir, the sight struck terror to his 
heart. He saw that the water was eating away the dam and dashino- 
70 feet to the rocks below. He waited not a moment, but white with 
excitement, he turned and rode down the Conemaugh as fast as his 
racer could carry him. As he passed through the villages and by 
farm houses he shouted, ' 'Fly to the hills, the dam is breaking ! 
Quick, you have not a moment to lose ! " That was the last warning 
many hundreds of people ever received, for at that moment the waters 
were sweeping down the valley at a speed which surpassed that of the 
fastest railroad train. The eighteen miles from the reservoir to Johns- 
town were passed in seven minutes. 

7. The vast mass of water forming a column half a mile wide and 
fifty feet in height, swept everything in its track— trees, rocks, 
houses, railroad trains, all were driven down the valley with the force 
of a volcano. Hundreds of beautiful houses were dashed to pieces in 
a twinkling, and it will never be known exactly how many perished 
but it was estimated that 5,000 persons were drowned. The hero 
Dan Periton, who rode down the valley, although he knew he would 
be overtaken by the flood, yet continued to ride and shout, ' 'To th<* 
hills," until he and his horse were buried beneath the mass of water. 

i. All day long the river flowed, 

Down by the winding mountain road, 



168 FLABH-LIQETS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Leaping and roaring in angry mood, 
At stubborn rocks in its way that stood ; 
Sullen the gleam of its rippled crest, 
Dark was the foam on its yellow breast ; 
The dripping banks on either side 
But half-imprisoned the turgid tide. 
By farm and village it quickly sped, — 
The weeping skies bent low overhead, — 
Foaming and rushing and tumbling down 
Into the streets of pent Johnstown, 
Down through the valley of Conemaugh, 
Down from the dam of shale and straw, 
To the granite bridge, where its waters pour, 
Through the arches wide, with a dismal roar. 

2. All day long the pitiful tide, 
Babbled of death on the mountain side ; 
And all day long with jest and sigh, 
They who were doomed that day to die, 
Turned deafened ears to the warning roar 
They had heard so oft and despised before. 

3. Yet women trembled — the mother's eyes 
Turned oft to the lowering, woeful skies — 
And shuddered to think what might befall 
Should the flood burst over the earthen wall. 
So all day long they went up and down, 
Heedless of peril in doomed Johnstown. 

4. And all day long in the chilly gloom 
Of a thrifty merchant's counting room, 
O'er the ledger bent with anxious care 



DAN PERITON ' S BIDE. ^g 

Old Periton's only son and heir. 
A common-place, plodding, industrious youth, 
Counting debit and credit the highest truth, 
And profit and loss a more honored game 
Than searching for laurels or fighting for fame. 
He saw the dark tide as it swept by the door, 
But heeded it not till his task was o'er ; 
Then saddled his horse, — a black-pointed bay, 
High-stepping, high-blooded, grandson of Dismay ; 
Raw-boned and deep-chested, — his eyes full of fire ; 
The temper of Satan — Magog was his sire ; 
Arched fetlocks, strong quarters, low knees, 
And lean, bony head — his dam gave him these ; 
The foal of a racer transformed to a cob 
For the son of a merchant went out of a job. 
"Now I'll see," said Dan Periton, mounting the bay, 
"What danger there is of the dam giving way ! " 

5. A marvelous sight young Periton saw 
When he rode up the valley of Conemaugh. 
Seventy feet the water fell 

With a roar like the angry ocean's swell ! 
Seventy feet from the crumbling crest 
To the rock on which the foundations rest ! 
Seventy feet fell the ceaseless flow 
Into the boiling gulf below ! 

6. Dan Periton's cheek grew pale with fear, 
As the echoes fell on his startled ear, 

And he thought of the weight of the pent-up tide, 
That hung on the rifted mountain-side, 
Held by that heap of stone and straw, 



i7o FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

O'er the swarming valley of Conemaugh ! 
The raw-boned bay with quivering ears 
Displayed a brute's instinctive fears, 
Snorted and pawed with flashing eye, 
Seized on the curb, and turned to fly ! 

7. Dan Periton tightened his grip on the rein, 
Sat close to the saddle, glanced backward again, 
Touched the bay with the spur, then gave him his 

head, 
And down the steep valley they clattering sped. 
Then the horse showed his breeding — the close 

gripping knees 
Felt the strong shoulders working with unflagging 

ease, 
As mile after mile, 'neath the high-blooded bay, 
The steep mountain turnpike flew backward away. 
While with outstretched neck he went galloping 

down 
With the message 01 warning to periled Johnstown 
Past farm-house and village, while shrilly outrang 
O'er the river's deep roar and the hoof's iron clang 
His gallant young rider's premonitant shout, 
"Ply ! Fly to the hills ! The waters are out ! " 

8. Past Mineral Point there came such a roar 
As never had shaken those mountains before ! 
Dan urged the good horse then with word and 

caress : 
'Twould be his last race, what mattered distress ? 
A mile farther on and behind him he spied 
The wreck-laden crest of the death-dealing tide ! 



DAN PERITON'S RIDE. 171 

Then he plied whip and spur and redoubled the 

shout, 
"To the hills! To the hills! The waters are 

out ! " 
Thus horseman and flood-tide came racing it down 
The cinder-paved streets of doomed Johnstown ! 

9. Daniel Periton knew that his doom was nigh, 
Yet never once faltered his clarion cry ; 

The blood ran off from his good steed's side ; 
Over him hung the white crest of the tide ; 
His hair felt the touch of the eygre's breath ; 
The spray on his cheek was the cold kiss of death ; 
Beneath him the horse 'gan to tremble and droop — 
He saw the pale rider who sat on the croup ! 
But clear over all rang his last warning shout, 
u To the hills ! To the hills ! For the waters are 

out ! " 
Then the tide reared its head and leaped vengefully 

down 
On the horse and his rider in fated Johnstown ! 

10. That horse was a hero, so poets still say, 

That brought the good news of the treaty to Aix ; 
And the steed is immortal, which carried Revere 
Through the echoing night with his message of 

fear; 
And the one that bore Sheridan into the fray, 
From Winchester town, "twenty miles away ; " . 
But none of these merits a nobler lay 
Than young Daniel Periton's raw-boned bay 
That raced down the valley of Conemaugh, 



172 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

With the tide that rushed through the dam of 

straw, 
Roaring and rushing and tearing down 
On the fated thousands in doomed Johnstown ! 
In the very track of the eygre's swoop, 
With Dan in the saddle and Death on the croup, 
The foam of his nostrils flew back on the wind, 
And mixed with the foam of the billow behind. 

Ii. A terrible vision the morrow saw 
In the desolate valley of Conemaugh ! 
The river had shrunk to its narrow bed, 
But its way was choked with the heaped-up dead. 
'Gainst the granite bridge with its arches four 
Lay the wreck of a city that delves no more ; 
And under it all, so the searchers say, 
Stood the sprawling limbs of the gallant bay, 
Stiff -cased in the drift of the Conemaugh. 
A goodlier statue man never saw, — 
Dan's foot on the stirrup, his hand on the rein ! 
So shall they live in white marble again ; 
And ages shall tell, as they gaze on the group, 
Of the race that he ran while Death sat on the 
croup. 

— Albion W. Tour gee. 

RECREATIONS. 

Where is the Conemaugh Valley ? Where is Johnstown ? 
Describe Conemaugh Lake reservoir. For what used ? 
What happened in the Conemaugh Valley, May, 1889 ? 
Who was Dan Periton? What warning did he give as he 

rode? 
Tell about the water rushing down the Valley. 
How many people were destroyed ? 



SAVED BY A HYMN. 173 

LESSON XUX. 



SAVED BY A HYMN. 

1. On a beautiful Sabbath evening a vessel was gliding over the 
peaceful waters of the broad Potomac. All nature was hushed, and 
the only sound that broke the silence was the puffing and splashing 
of a huge steamer as she plowed her way through the placid waters 
and sent great billows to lash the shores. It seemed quiet, however, 
since the passengers but a few hours before, had experienced a terri- 
ble storm on the Atlantic. Many weary voyagers were glad indeed 
to behold their "fatherland'* once more, while others who were 
strangers to America, gathered on deck to get their first sight of the 
hills of Virginia. 

2. Amid the quiet repose of the summer evening, a passenger who 
sat apart from the others began to sing: 

''Jesus, Iyover of My Soul." 

As his clear voice rang out on the stillness in that sweet strain and 
echoed along the hill-tops, all conversation ceased. The words of the 
beautiful melody touched a responsive chord in each heart, and there 
was a spirit of peacefulness in every soul. The singer continued until 
the sacred hymn of Charles Wesley was finished, when a fellow pas- 
senger approached him and said, "Beg pardon, sir, were you in the 
Civil War?" "Yes, sir," replied the singer, "I fought in the Union 
army during the Civil War." Then he inquired if the stranger were 
a comrade. 

3. "I was in the Civil War," remarked the stranger, "but I wore 
the gray," and then he said to the singer, "Were you on guard one 
beautiful moonlight night on the banks of this river, and as you paced 
back and forth on your lonely watch, did you sing the same hymn 
that you have sung so beautifully to-night?" "I was," said the 
singer rising, "on guard one beautiful night on this river over which 
we are traveling, and as those lonely hours passed away, I was think- 
ing of the dear ones at home, and sang a prayer to Him who hides us 
beneath His wings in time of fear." 

4. The stranger took the singer by the hand, and as tears trickled 
down his cheeks, said, ' % too, was on guard that lonely night and 
watched you from the other side of the river, as you walked to and 
fro, and as you appeared in the moonlight I raised my gun to shoot 
you, when the sweet words: 



174 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMEBIC AN HIS TOBY 

'Cover my defenseless head 
With the shadow of thy wing' 

came across the waters in such touching tones. I xowerea my gun 
for I could not fire, and when I heard you sing the same hymn to- 
night I recognized your voice, and that whole scene comes back to me 
as vividly as the night that hymn saved your life." 

5. Then the two grasped hands tighter as the' steamer neared the 
shore where one was to land; but before they parted, they in concert 
thanked God that they sailed beneath the same flag, and that 

"The blue and gray had clasped their hands 
To be divided nevermore ." 

1. Down the placid river gliding, 

'Twixt the banks of waving life, 
Sailed a steamboat heavy laden, 

Mid the scenes of former strife. 
On the deck a throng of trav'lers 

Listened to a singer's voice, 
As it sung that song of pleading, — 

Song that makes the sad rejoice.— 

2. " Jesus, lover of my soul, 

Let me to thy bosom fly, 
While the nearer waters roll 

While the tempest still is high ; 
Hide me, O, my Saviour, hide, 

'Till the storm of life is past, 
Safe into the haven guide, 

Oh, receive my soul at last." 

3. In the throng an aged soldier 

Heard the voice with ears intent, 
And his quickened memory speeding 

O'er the lapse of years was sent. 
And he thought of hard-fought battles, 

Of the carnage and the gore, 



SAVED BY A HYMN. 

And the lonely picket guarding 
On the low Potomac shore. 

4„ Of the clash and roar of cannon, 

And the cry of wounded men, 
Of the sick'ning sights of slaughter 

In some Southern prison pen. 
And that voice was old, familiar, 

And he'd heard it long ago, 
While his lonely picket guarding 

With a measured beat, and slow. 

5. When it ceased and all was silent, 

Thus the aged soldier cried : 
u Sir, were you a Union soldier, 

Did you fight against our side ? " 
u Stranger, 'neath yon starry pennon, 

Fought I for the shackled slave, 
For my country and her freedom, 

And her sacred name to save." 

6. Were you near the calm Potomac 

On a frosty autumn night ? 
Did you guard your lonely picket 

As the stars were shining bright ? 
Did you sing that song so grandly, 

Filling all the silent air ? 
Did you sing to your Redeemer 

As you paced so lonely there ? 

7. Thus the aged soldier questioned, 

And his eyes were filled with tears, 
As he heard the singer answer, 



i75 



i 7 6 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

And his tale of hopes and fears : 
"Yes, I well recall that evening, 

On the low Potomac's shore, 
As I paced my lonely station 

And re-paced it o'er and o'er. 

8, And I thought of home and household, 

Of my wife and children three, 
And my darling baby Bessie, 

Dearest in the world to me. 
Thinking thus, my heart was troubled 

With a dread foreboding ill ; 
And I listened, but the midnight 

All around was calm and still ; 

9. Then I sang the song my mother 

Taught me, bending at her knee ; 
And all fear of coming trouble 

Quickly passed away from me." 
Thus the singer told his story ; 

Then the aged soldier said, — 
As his heart was stirred with feeling, 

And his thoughts were backward led, 

io. "And I, too, my lonely station 

Paced and re-paced o'er and o'er, 
Where the rebel camp-fires flashing, 

Lighted up the other shore. 
On the banks, across the river, 

There I saw your coat of blue, 
And my hand was on the trigger, 

As I aimed my gun at you. 



SAVED BY A HYMN. 177 

11. When across the silent water 

Came the song you've sung to-day ; 
And my heart was touched, and softened 

By that sweet, melodious lay : 
Other refuge have I none, 

Hangs my helpless soul on Thee : 
Leave, oh, leave me not alone, 

Still support and comfort me. 

12. All my trust on Thee is stayed, 

All my help from Thee I bring : 
Cover my defenceless head 

With the shadow of Thy wing' ! 
And I brought my gun to carry, 

For I could not shoot you then ; 
And your humble prayer was answered 

By our God, the Lord of Men." 

13. Then they clasped their hands as brothers ; 

While the steamboat glided on 
As they talked of hard fought battles, 

And of deeds long past and gone ; 
How Jehovah had been o'er them, — 

Shielded from the fiery wave, — 
Giving victory to their banners, — 

Brought redemption to the slaves. 

— Barry W. Kimball. 

RECREATIONS. 

On what river is this scene laid ? Locate. 
What made the passengers happy ? 
What did a passenger sing ? Who wrote it ? 
Tell the story of the "stranger and singer/ ' 



i>9 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY 

LESSON L. 



GRANDFATHER'S FOURTH. 

i. If we could look back to the 4th of July, 1776, sweeping aside 
the years that lie between, and see in the sultry streets of Philadel- 
phia the procession of patriots who founded our Republic, 1 moving 
thoughtfully toward the old State House, 2 we would see a band of 
men, the equal in intellect and appearance of any in the world's his- 
tory. There were Franklin, Jefferson, Richard Henry Lee, John 
Adams, James Otis, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and many others 
of whom we have a right to be proud. 

2. How often had the people of America, previous to this day, 
sighed for a land in which honest industry might be rewarded. At 
the beginning of the Revolutionary war, — a year before this, the col- 
onists had not expected to be entirely free from British rule; in fact 
they did not wish to be free. All they asked was to be treated fairly. 

3. As the Revolution progressed the people grew more convinced 
that nothing short of independence w T ould satisfy them. That was a 
great day, therefore, when the old bellman sat in the tower and rang 
out " Independence". The news of the event was carried to every 
village, town and city; fires were lighted, bells rung, cannon fired; 
people shouted themselves hoarse — in every way they tried to 
show their joy. John Adams, who helped to write the Declaration of 
Independence, 3 wrote to his wife, — ''This day ought to be celebrated 
with pomp, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations 
from one end of the continent to the other, from this time forward 
forever." 

4. Since that day to the present, each returning "4th of July," 
which is our national holiday, has been celebrated much in the same 
way which John Adams directed, and the farther away the American 
people get from the birth of the nation, the more zealous they are to 
chow their patriotic spirit and devotion. 

i , Grandfather Watts used to tell us boys 

That a Fourth wa'n'ta Fourth without any noise. 

| e REPUBLIC: a government where the people elect their own rulers. 

2. STATE HOUSE : Located in Philadelphia; also called "Independence Hall." 

The colonies, before this time, were governed by people sent from Eng- 
land. 

3. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE: This paper, which was the "most 

famous state paper ever written", came from the pen of Thomas Jefferson. 



GRANDFATHER'S FOURTH. 179 

He would say, with a thump of his hickory stick, 

That it made an American right down sick 

To see his sons on the nation's day 

Sit round in a sort of listless way, 

With no oration and no train-band, 

No fire-work show and no foot-beer stand, 

While his grandsons, before they were out of bibs, 

Were ashamed — Great Scott ! ! — to fire off squibs. 

2. And so each Independence morn 
Grandfather Watts took his powder horn, 
And the flint-lock shotgun his father had 
When he fought under Schuyler, a country lad. 
And Grandfather Watts would start and tramp 
Ten miles to the woods at Beaver Camp ; 

For Grandfather Watts used to say — and scowl — 
That a decent chipmunk or woodchuck or owl 
Was better company, friendly or shy, 
Than folks who didn't keep Fourth of July. 
And so he would pull his hat down on his brow, 
And march to the woods, sou'east by sou'. 

3. But once — ah ! long, long years ago ; 

For grandfather's gone where good men go — 
One hot, hot Fourth, by ways of our own, 
Such short-cuts as boys have always known, 
We hurried and followed the dear old man 
Beyond where the wilderness began, 
To the deep, black woods at the foot of the Hump, 
And there was a clearing and a stump — 

4. A stump in the heart of a great wide wood ; 



i & FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Talking and shouting out there in the sun, 
And firing that funny old flint-lock gun 
Once a minute, his head all bare, 
Having his Fourth of July out there — 
The Fourth of July he used to know 
Back in eighteen-and-twenty or so. 

5. First, with his face to the heaven's blue, 
He read the "Declaration" through ; 

And then, with gestures to the left and right, 

He made an oration erudite, 

Full of words six syllables long ; 

And then our grandfather broke into song, 

And scaring the squirrels in the trees, 

Gave "Hail, Columbia ! " to the breeze. 

6. And I tell you, the old man never heard 
When we joined in the chorus, word for word ! 
But he sang out strong to the bright, blue sky, 
And if voices joined in his Fourth of July, 

He heard them as echoes from days gone by. 

7. And when he had done, we all slipped back, 

As still as we came, on our twisting track ; 

While words more clear than the flint-lock shots 

Rang in our ears. 

And Grandfather Watts ? 

He shouldered the gun his father bore, 

And marched off home, nor'west by nor'. 

— II. C. Bunner . 

RECRKATIONS. 

Why is "4th of July" an important date in our history? 
Tell something of Franklin, Samuel Adams, John Han- 
cock. 



GRANDFATHER'S Ft TH. 1S1 

How long did the Revolution last ? 
What is meant by "Independence" ? 
Tell something of John Adams. 
How is the 4th of July celebrated ? 
Tell the story of Grandfather Watts. 



LESSON LL 



PROVERBS ILLUSTRATED IN AMERICAN HISTORY. 
Proverb. — "Maris extremity is God's opportunity" 

1. This proverb holds good in the history of our coun- 
try. In the Colonial history of United States, several 
instances occurred in which the colonists were remarka- 
bly preserved. In 1746, a powerful fleet sailed from 
France to ravage and destroy the English settlements. 
The colonists were alarmed when they learned that no 
fleet had sailed from the mother country to intercept 
the French, but a kind Providence appeared to deliver 
them. The commander of the French fleet died sud- 
denly. A successor was appointed, he, too, died. 
Storms wrecked the vessels, and a mortal sickness car- 
ried away a large portion of the soldiers. Discouraged 
by these visitations of supernatural powers, the re- 
mainder of the sailors returned to France. Again, dur- 
ing the Revolutionary war, Washington's army, at 
the point of annihilation, was remarkably preserved. A 
large army and fleet of British had arrived in the vicin- 
ity of New York. The American army suffered a seri- 
ous defeat on Long Island, and were confined in Brook- 
lyn at the point opposite New York City. The British 
fleet, having command of the waters, could easily 
cut off the Americans if they tried to retreat. There 



1S2 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

seemed to be no way of escape for the patriots. On the 
second night after the battle, a dense fog hung over 
Long Island and concealed the movements of the Amer- 
icans, while they moved silently down to the shore and 
safely crossed to New York, where they were surprised 
to find the weather clear. 

Proverb. — "No pains, no gains; no sweat, no sweety 

2. When gold was discovered in California, the 
crowds who pressed thither faithfully tested the truth of 
the proverb. They wanted gold and they had to endure 
many kinds of hardships to get it. Some of them lost 
their money before they reached the mines, and were 
glad to drive drays, saw wood, or do anything else to 
keep themselves from starving. It was only men who 
were not afraid of getting wet, or of laboring in the dirt 
that obtained the golden prize. 

Proverb. — "Caution is the parent of Safety!' 

3. Fabius, the celebrated and well-known Roman 
General, was called to defend his country against Han- 
nibal, the Carthagenian, who had thus far defeated all 
the Roman Generals sent against him. Fabius was 
very careful about keeping his army together, and very 
cautious in what direction he moved. He sent his 
scouts ahead to see that there were no ambuscades on 
the road he desired to travel. He was cautious to avoid 
coming to any general battle. By this means he finally 
starved out Hannibal and defeated all his troops. Gen- 
eral George Washington acted much in the same man- 
ner as this skillful Roman General, and he was there- 
fore called the "American Fabius," for his policy in 
campaigns was similar to that of Fabius. 



PBOVEBBS 1LLUSTBATED IN AMEBIC AN HISTOBY. 183 

Proverb. — "Better Bend than Break!' 

4. During the American Revolution, the Pennsyl- 
vania line of troops, having suffered many privations, 
and feeling themselves neglected, mutinied in a body. 
General Wayne, their commander, rode among them, 
and drawing his pistols, threatened to shoot the leaders 
if they proceeded farther. Instantly numerous muskets 
were pointed at him, and he was threatened with 
instant death unless he retired. He was obliged to 
bend. The mutinous army proceeded to Philadelphia 
and surrounded the house where the American Congress 
were assembled. Congress, at this crisis, was obliged 
to bend to the storm which they had no means of resist- 
ing. They appointed a committee to meet one from the 
army. Their complaints were heard, and, as far as 
could be, redressed. 

RECREATIONS. 

Tell the story of the French fleets. 

How was the American army saved during the battle of 

Long Island ? 
When and how was gold discovered in California ? 
Who was Fabius ? Hannibal ? 
Who was called * 'American Fabius " ? 
Tell the story of General Wayne and his army. 



LESSON UL 



WHICH SHALL IT BE? 

1. The affection of parents for their children is one of the strong- 
est attachments of life, — one of its tenderest feelings— a source of the 
purest enjoyment to be found in the world. What parent could think 
with serious intention of parting with a child for any sum of money ? 

2. But often in the homes of the poor, cares are so heavy and 



1 84 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMEBIC AN HISTORY. 

purses so light, that love for the child and a longing to do great 
things for it, may prove a great temptation to the parents. A few years 
ago a rich man who had no children proposed to his poor neighbor, 
who had seven, to take one of them; he promised, if the parents 
would consent, that he would give them property enough to make 
themselves and their other six children comfortable for life. 

3. The question was seriously considered, and looking into each 
other's faces, they said: ' 'Which shall it be?" Not the baby cer- 
tainly, the idol of the household; not the youngest boys; not the 
sweet helpful womanly girl; not the helpless loving little cripple; not 
the wayward boy, (none but a parent's heart could always be strong 
and patient enough to love him and forgive him and pray for him;) 
and not — not for worlds the oldest son, the pride of his mother, the 
hope and help of his father. And so they sent a letter refusing the 
rich man's offer, and saying that not for any amount of money could 
they give one child away. 

i. Which shall it be ? Which shall it be ? 
I looked at John, John looked at me, 
And when I found that I must speak, 
My voice seemed strangely low and weak : 
"Tell me again what Robert said ; " 
And then I, listening, bent my head — 
This is his letter : 

"I will give 
2 A house and land while you shall live, 
If in return from out your seven, 
One child to me for aye is given." 
I looked at John's old garments worn ; 
I thought of all that he had borne 
Of poverty, and work, and care, 
Which I, though willing, could not share ; 
I thought of seven young mouths to feed, 
Of seven little children's need, 
And then of this. 



WHICH SHALL IT BE :' j8 5 

"Come, John," said I, 
"We'll choose among them as they lie 
Asleep." So, walking hand in hand, 
Dear John and I surveyed our band : 
First to the cradle lightly stepped 
Where Lilian, the baby, slept. 
Softly the father stooped to lay 
His rough hand down in a loving way, 
When dream or whisper made her stir, 
And huskily he said : "Not her !" 

We stooped beside the trundle bed, 
And one long ray of twilight shed 
Athwart the boyish faces there, 
In sleep so beautiful and fair ; 
I saw on James' rough, red cheek 
A tear undried. E'er John could speak, 
"He's but a baby too," said I, 
And kissed him as we hurried by. 
Pale, patient Robbie's angel fa^e 
Still in his sleep bore suffering's trace, 
"No, for a thousand crowns, not him ! " 
He whispered, while our eyes were dim. 

Poor Dick ! bad Dick ! our wayward son — 

Turbulent, restless, idle one — 

Could he be spared ? Nay, He who gave, 

Bade us befriend him to the grave ; 

Only a mother's heart could be 

Patient enough for such as he ; 

"And so," said John, "I would not dare 

To take him from her bedside prayer." 



186 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY. 

6. Then stole we softly up above, 
And knelt by Mary, child of love ; 
"Perhaps for her 'twould better be," 
I said to John. Quite silently 

He lifted up a curl that lay 

Across her cheek in a wilful way, 

And shook his head : "Nay, love, not thee," 

The while my heart beat audibly. 

7. Only one more, our eldest lad, 
Trusty and truthful, good and glad, 
So like his father. "No, John, no ! 
I cannot, will not, let him go." 
And so we wrote in a courteous way, 
We could not give one child away ; 
And afterward toil lighter seemed, 
Thinking of that of which we dreamed, 
Happy in truth that not one face 

Was missed from its accustomed place ; 
Thankful to work for all the seven, 
Trusting the rest to One in heaven ! 

RECREATIONS. 

Tell about the affection of parents for children. 
Tell about a rich man who had no children. 
What did the parents do ? 

Why did they not exchange one child for riches? 
What answer did they send the rich man ? 



ARBOR DAY. 187 

LESSON LIU 



ARBOR DAY. 

At noontime on a sultry day, 
Two travelers walked a shady way, 
Where elm-trees lifted high an arch 
That fiercest sunrays could not parch: 
Said one, "God bless the kindly hand 
That set this archway cool and grand ! ' ' 
The other cried: "Ah, who can say 
What comfort yields this leafy way ! 
Better such monument of green 
Than marble pile of King or Queen./ 

1. It was a custom of our New England ancestors, in the early set- 
tlement of our country, to plant trees and dedicate them to liberty. 
One of these "liberty trees" was planted at Cambridge, Mass. 1 

2. Alexander Hamilton, with patriotic zeal, planted near his resi- 
dence, thirteen trees to represent the thirteen original colonies in 
America. Among other historical trees are Penn's Treaty tree, the 
Tory tree on Boston Common, and the Charter Oak. Every child 
should be familiar with these noted trees and should know the trees 
of his native state and country. 

3. Trees are educators. They teach us lessons of order, beauty and 
life. Their presence on our school grounds will convert the barn- 
like school houses into home-like buildings for young pupils, and will 
put every child in the way of living upon more intelligent terms with 
his surroundings. Trees teach us lessons of usefulness in the shade 
they afford, in the influence they have on climate, in the fuel to be 
furnished by their trunks and branches. 

4. A country without trees is a place not healthy nor even pleas- 
ant in which to live. Experience has shown that these countries 
where the forests were all cut down or destroyed, and not replanted, 
have, in course of time, become deserts or barren wastes where none 
can live. The forests are the great storehouses for water, R and since 
many forests have been destroyed, "there is less moisture in the air, 
and summer rains have become uncertain." 

5. Arbor Day, repeated in our schools from year to year, will cul- 
tivate a reverent love of nature; will lead children to value the groves 
which were "God's first temples". There is a power and culturing 
beauty in tree-planting, which every child may experience if he will. 

I. Under the shade of this venerable tree, Washington took command of the 
Continental army, July 3, 1775. 



188 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HISTORY 

6. The sturdy oaks, unyielding to the winds and frosts of autumn, 
strew the ground with the glories of their summer strength, and warm 
and feed the earth with their leafy honors. ' 'The maple turns its 
silvery greenness into orange, and in the coming of the autumn even- 
tide, it seems to catch the glories of the sunset, and to wear them as a 
sign of God's promise in Egypt — like a pillar of cloud by day and of 
fire by night. " 

7. Many trees in our country, stand as land-marks and are valued 
highly; there are others around whose trunks, and under whose 
boughs, whole families of children have passed much of their child- 
hood; and still others whose shade has delighted many a weary trav- 
eler. When one of these is destroyed, it is like the demise of some 
honored citizen whose loss is felt keenly in the community in which 
he lived. 

io Woodman, spare that tree! 

Touch not a single bough ! 
In youth it sheltered me, 

And I'll protect it now. 
'Twas my forefather's hand 

That placed it near his cot ; 
There, woodman, let it stand ; 

Thy axe shall harm it not. 

2. The old familiar tree, 

Whose glory and renown, 
Are spread o'er land and sea — 

And would'st thou hew it down? 
Woodman, forbear thy stroke ! 

Cut not its earth-bound ties ! 
Oh, spare that aged oak, 

Now towering to the skieSo 

3. When but an idle boy 

I sought its grateful shade$ 
In all their gushing joy 



ARBOR DAY. 

Here, too, my sisters played. 
My mother kissed me here, 

My father press'd my hand ; 
Forgive this foolish tear, 

But let that old oak stand. 



189 




My heart strings round thee cling, 
Close as thy bark, old friend ! 

Here shall the wild bird sing, 
And still thy branches bend. 



190 FLASH-LIGHTS ON AMERICAN HIS TOR K 

Old tree, the storm still brave ! 

And, woodman, leave the spot ! 
While IVe a hand to save, 

Thy axe shall harm it not ! 

— George P. Morris* 



LESSON LIV. 



AMERICA.* 

1. My country, 'tis of thee, 
Sweet land of Liberty f 

Of thee I sing . 
Land where my fathers died, 
Land of the Pilgrims' pride, 
From every mountain side 

Let Freedom ring ! 

2. My native country ! thee, — 
Land of the noble free, — 

Thy name I love ; 
I love thy rocks and rills, 
Thy woods and templed hills ; 
My heart with rapture thrills 

Like that above. 

3. Let music swell the breeze, 
And ring from all the trees 

Sweet Freedom's song ; 
Let mortal tongues awake ; 

*The "National Hymn," was written in 1S32 by Rev. S F. Smith, D. D., of Mass- 
achusetts, through whose courtesty it is inserted in this volume. Teachers and 
children should sing this beautiful patriotic song often. It is full of inspiration 
and love r i country, and every child in America should learn the words. 



AMERICA. 191 

Let all that breathe partake ; 
Let rocks their silence break,— 
The sound prolong. 

Our fathers' God, to Thee, 
Author of Liberty, 

To Thee we sing ; 
Long may our land be bright 
With Freedom's holy light ; 
Protect us by Thy might, 

Great God, our King ! 




^ 



Note,— Permission to use this poem was given by Dr. Smith during August. 
1895. On the 16th day of November, he died suddenly while on his way to Hyde 
Park, where he was to preach. 



STANDARD HELPS FOR TEACHERS 



(1) The New Manual and Guide for Teachers, . .50 cents 

A safe guide for teachers and principals of all grades— country 
schools, village schools, and city schools. It contains the latest 
that has been proved good. Course of study ; suggestive pro- 
grams ; supplementary work, etc. 

(2) Pupil's Monthly Report Cards, {8.8TSM3 

They stimulate the pupils, please the parents, and keep the 
teacher interested in his work. Begin to use them now. Sample 
free. 

(3) The Teacher's Terra Report Blank, 5 cents per copy 

It gives a complete review of the term's work, and serves as a 
guide for the next year. It affords a means of reminding the 
Superintendent and the School Board of a teacher's faithfulness 
and industry. 

(4) Jukes-Edwards, {g&g S'-S 

A Study in Education, by Dr. A. E. Winship, Editor of the " New 
England Journal of Education." An impressive object-lesson for 
teachers, parents and philanthropists. ^ 

(5) A New Life in Education, 90 cents 

A first prize ($600) book, by Dr. Fletcher Durell. " We wish every 
teacher and every boy or girl knew by heart, the chapters on ' Or- 
ganization and Exactness,' ' The Will,' and ' A New Body'."— New 
York Independent. 

(6) The School Gazette, SO cents a year 

An ideal journal for teachers. Helpful, encouraging, stimulat- 
ing. It keeps the teacher in touch with school work in Pennsyl- 
vania, and with the outside world generally. 



OTHER STANDARD PUBLICATIONS 



A Grammar School Algebra— Durell and Robbins, 

A School Algebra— Durell and Robbins, : : 

A School Algebra Complete— Durell and Robbins, 

The Primary Speller — Benedict, : : : 

The Advanced Speller— Benedict, : 

Primary Ideal Music Book — Sprenkle, 

Advanced Ideal flusic Book— Sprenkle, : 

The New Ideal Copy Books, 

Outlines of General History— Flickinger, 

Flashlights on American History — Murphy, 

A History of Pennsylvania— Shimmell, 

The Pennsylvania Citizen— Shimmell, 

A flental Arithmetic— Weidenhamer, 

Mensuration — Furst, : : ; 

Facts in Literature— Meese, : 

Final Examination Questions— Normal Schools, 

Write for descriptive circulars and special introductory prices 
where books are ordered for exclusive use in all the schools of a 
district. 

R. L. MYERS & CO., Publishers 

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 



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1. 00 

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.60 

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50 

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APR 1 1909 



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